Pillow Talk
by whump-2-go
Summary: This will be a series of one-shots. Mostly Cath and Steve talking about *important* stuff, but other team members will also make an appearance. Some will have whump, some will just be silly and sweet. We hope you will enjoy them.
1. Aftermath

_**Pillow Talk, Chapter 1: Aftermath  
><strong>_

_**A short addendum to our story, Ho'olilo**_

_**by Cokie**_

_**~~~H50~~~**_

_**Author's Notes:**_ _After Sam and I wrote Ho'olilo, we got some very nice reviews from readers. One in particular was from Catarina who mentioned that she thought Steve and Catherine must have had several 'pillow talks' over things such as leaving the Navy._

_It hit me that "Pillow Talk" would be a great title for a series of short stories. Just little tidbits that really don't fit anywhere else. There's not a lot of plot, but I hope you enjoy these. We have a few already written, but they may be posted at random times._

_If there is a title you would like to see… drop us a note! … Cokie_

_**Author's Notes:** You know Cokie was gracious enough to let me contribute to this series. Really she is a master at this kind of story writing. She cranks them out like you wouldn't believe it. :-) Some of these stories will have whump in them, more or less serious, some of them are just some silly random thoughts. But as Cokie said, I hope you will enjoy them. … Sam _

**_p.s... And all of the others are longer than this one... promise! Cokie_**

**_~~~H50~~~_**

Steve rinsed his mouth and dropped his toothbrush into the cup on the sink. He tossed the white towel back on the rack and entered the bedroom to find Catherine already in bed, flipping through a magazine.

He sat on the bed and took the magazine, tossing it on the floor.

"Hey!" she yelped and looked up at the grin on his face.

"You were just flipping through the pages, not reading it," he told her. "You didn't look too interested." He pushed back the sheet and crawled into bed beside her. "You can read it tomorrow."

She scooted closer and laid her hand on his bare chest. "Did you have something planned other than reading?" she asked, leaning down to kiss his shoulder.

"Hmm…" He rolled onto his side and propped his head on his palm. "Possibly," he grinned. "So, you had a busy day, didn't you?"

Catherine mimicked his pose, turning to face him. "It was good. I'm so glad I went to meet Mrs. Marx. She is a nice person and I think we kind of clicked. She's worried about her husband but knows that he will finally get the help he needs."

"And I'm sure the boys devoured the cookies," Steve added.

"They did. Aren't you glad I saved you a couple?"

"Absolutely. That was very thoughtful of you," he told her, leaning over to kiss her forehead.

"Doing something for someone else feels good," she said. "And it got me out of my funk for today."

"Things will begin to come together soon," Steve promised. "It just takes some time. And patience."

"I know. My job is out there… I just have to wait to find it. And speaking of time…"

"Yeah?"

"It's wasting," she told him with a wicked grin. She pushed his shoulder, rolling with him when he fell back on the bed. "And we shouldn't waste any more."

His smile said everything. No more words were needed.


	2. Boys Talk, Too

**A/N:** Day 2 of Pillow Talk equals story 2 of Pillow Talk! We really hope you will enjoy these little stories… but don't start to think you'll get one _**every**_ day. Sorry, that just won't happen!

I know you will enjoy Sam's tale! ...Cokie

Well, we have warned you that a few of these were already written. So, here is another one. And as promised it is longer. ;-) ...Sam

* * *

><p><strong>Boys Talk, Too<br>**_**by Sam **_

"Will you just stop that?"

"What?" Steve threw an irritated glance at his partner, almost laughing at the ridiculous inflatable neck pillow Danny had on.

"That!" Danny said and waved his hand at Steve's sitting form.

"What the heck are you talking about?" Steve asked and again wiggled in his seat to get comfortable. But the 'comfortable' part of this stake out flew out the window about two hours ago.

"Could you maybe sit still for just one minute?" Danny asked his partner and threw his pillow onto the back seat. "You're driving me nuts," he added under his breath.

"I can sit still," Steve said and willed himself not to move again. His six had gone numb and his leg with the big bruise on the thigh hurt like a bitch. Sitting in a car for almost four hours now was not helping one bit.

"Ah, jeez, Steve, stop it. Stop fidgeting," Danny called out, exasperated.

Steve wondered what had his partner so on edge. It couldn't really be his subtle movements.

"What's gotten into you, Danno?"

"Nothing... just stop moving."

"Am I allowed to breathe?"

"Shallow breaths," Danny answered and had to laugh. "Sorry. But seriously, didn't you ever have to be still when on a SEAL mission or something?"

"I can be perfectly still for hours if need be," Steve said and remembered a few times he couldn't have moved or would have been dead. "But here is really no need," Steve further explained.

"Ah, I guess driving your partner nuts doesn't count as 'need' then."

"Will you tell me anytime soon what's bugging you, or do you want to play this stupid game a little longer?" Steve asked and purposely wiggled in his seat and rubbed his hurting right leg.

"You okay?" Danny asked in sudden concern, just now remembering that his partner had been kicked by a horse that afternoon.

"I'm fine," Steve said and glared at his friend. "Tell me what's going on. Is it Gracie? Is she okay?"

"Grace is fine," Danny hurried to say.

"Then what's the matter?"

H50 - H50 - H50

"You think we should tell them that their com-link is still open?" Kono asked with a smirk.

"Nah." Catherine grinned back.

"This could get a bit embarrassing," Kono reminded Cath.

"Steve won't reveal any stupid stuff," Cath told her friend and used air quotes for the stupid stuff.

"They are men."

"Well, that's a good point."

Both women laughed at their own joke, or maybe at the two men who were still bickering away.

"We could turn off the sound," Kono suggested.

"We could," Catherine said and shook her head still smiling.

"You do know that we'll be dead meat if they ever find out we listened in on their conversation, don't you?" Kono told Cath now with a serious frown. She did value her life after all.

"We can't turn off the sound; what if they need to tell us something?"

"Hmm."

Both women shrugged their shoulders and leaned forward a little so they could hear what the boys were now talking about.

H50 - H50 - H50

"Steve, can I ask you a personal question?"

"Of course," Steve wondered why his best friend even had to ask.

"You and Catherine."

Steve sat up a bit straighter and hoped this wasn't going into the bedroom area, that was something he was not going to discuss with Danny, best friend or not. "Danny, we are not going to talk-"

"Whoa, of course not, you Moron. I have to work with her. I couldn't look her in the eyes if I knew-"

"I've never ever discussed _**that**_with anyone… I respect her too much to do that," Steve said.

"You mean _**love**_ her way too much," Danny said with a grin.

"That too," Steve said honestly. Then grinned, adding, "And she could kill me in my sleep and no one would ever find my body."

"That's a pretty good reason." Danny grinned back.

"Yeah. So what about Cath and me?"

"You've known her for a long time, right?"

"Yeah?"

"Did you know right away that she was the one?" Danny asked and looked at his friend. In his mind there was no doubt that his best friend and Cath were a perfect match.

"Pretty much, yeah. Why?"

"After... I mean... were you with other women?"

"Huh?" Steve looked at his friend and wondered not for the first time what the heck was going on with his friend today and where this conversation was leading. He was sure this was just an intro to the real question he wanted answers to.

"After you two did it..."

"After we made love? Had sex the first time? Danny, you can say it. What are you, twelve?"

"Hey, this is Catherine we're talking about, I mean..."

"Danny, I'm pretty sure everyone knows that Cath and I are not only living together, but that we also have sex. So, what's your point?"

"Were you ever with someone else while you were seeing Catherine?"

"No. After that first night it was... I mean I knew... I didn't want to be with anyone else," Steve stammered and didn't know how to explain it. "I was pretty busy and when I had time off I didn't want to be with anyone that wasn't Catherine."

"Oh."

"What do you mean, 'OH'?"

"I just wondered how you do it?"

"Do what, Danny?" Steve asked and looked through the spy-glass over to the house they had been watching for the last several hours.

"Not fall for any of the crazy women, and men throwing themselves at you," Danny said.

"What? What the hell are you talking about now?"

"Ah, come on, you can't tell me you don't see the looks and outright flirting that is going on? No one can be that oblivious."

"Wait, did you just say men were flirting with me?" Steve asked and turned to look at his friend, who was now smirking. "Who?"

"Why? You interested?"

"No, I'm not interested. Who?" Steve repeated his question.

"Not gonna tell you, but there are a few who are very interested in you, my friend," Danny said and grinned at the uncomfortable look Steve gave him.

"You're just pulling my leg," Steve said and stared out the windshield.

"No, I'm not, but I know that some want to pull at something else," Danny said with a laugh.

"That's not funny, Danny."

"What, you have a problem with that?"

"No, I don't have a problem with that. But it's... I mean... did I give them any indication that I was interested?"

"No, not that I know of, but obviously I did," Danny answered.

"What? Are we finally coming to the part that you've wanted to talk about from the beginning?" Steve wanted to know.

"Ehm, maybe," Danny said and smiled a bit sheepishly. He knew that he sometimes had trouble coming to the point. "Bob Myers asked me in the locker room if we were serious or if he could give it a shot?"

"You and who?" Steve obviously hadn't quite caught up yet.

"You, you dofus."

"Me?" Steve almost shrieked. "You and me?" asked to clarify. "As in… you know?"

"Now who can't say the words? But, yeah. Why is that so surprising to you? We spend a lot of time together, we bicker all the time."

"Yeah... but you're my friend. Of course we spend a lot of time together, we're partners," Steve clarified that point. "I like spending time with you, but I don't want to jump your bones. Why do people get that idea?"

"Guess they think we're cute together?" Danny offered with a smirk.

Steve only grunted at that. "Well, if I were interested in men, to be honest, I'm not sure you would be my first choice."

"And why not?"

Steve thought for just a moment. "You're short, you talk way too much, and... you're short," Steve said with a huge grin.

"It took you four years to comment on my height, thank you for waiting so long," Danny told him with a matching grin. "You know, you wouldn't be my first choice either. Just so you know."

"What? I thought I was everyone's dream?"

"Yeah, right, dream on, SuperSEAL."

They both fell silent for a moment until they both spoke at the same time.

"Why not?" "Where you ever with a man?"

"What?" "What?"

Steve looked at his friend and saw the real curiosity in his eyes. This was a very strange conversation they were having, but heck they had talked about stranger things. Besides they had nothing better to do anyway. "You first," he told Danny. "Why wouldn't I be your first choice?"

"Okay. Well, first there is your tendency to get us shot at," Danny started ticking off on his fingers and ignored Steve rolling his eyes. "Then there is your reckless driving. You are a neat freak, also a health nut. We could never live under one roof. I like my house a bit messy, like it's lived in, you know?"

"Our house is lived in. Cath and I leave clothes lying around... on occasion."

"Right." It was now Danny's turn to roll his eyes. "A plus would be you already love my daughter. No man or woman could come into my house who didn't love Gracie," Danny said with conviction.

"You're supposed to tell me why I'm _**not**_ your dream partner," Steve reminded his friend. "Living healthy and keeping the house clean and loving your daughter are all plus points."

"Are not," Danny said and shook his head at his friend. "You're bossy."

"I _**am**_ your boss." Steve grinned.

"Hmpf," Danny grunted his disapproval.

"By the way, what did you tell Myers?" Steve suddenly remembered how this conversation had started.

"I told him we're just casual and he should give it a shot," Danny told his partner grinning.

"What? Why did you do that?"

"You wanted me to tell him we were an item?"

"Yes. I mean, no, I... ah what the heck," Steve said and looked out the windshield again. It was getting on his nerves that nothing was happening and that he was trapped in the car with his chatty partner.

"So?" Danny stared at him.

"So, what?"

"Have you?"

"Have I what?" Steve asked, fully knowing what his partner wanted to know.

"Have you ever done it with a guy?"

"You mean other than taking a look at the older boys under the shower after football practice?" Steve asked with a grin, remembering his older team mates making fun of him unashamedly watching them.

"You looked at your football buddies?" Danny wondered.

"As if you didn't," Steve said, shaking his head at his friend. "Besides some of them were two years older... they looked... different."

"Yeah, I bet," Danny said laughing while imagining a young Steve watching the bigger older boys. "But besides looking..."

"No. I was never interested in that experience," Steve told his friend and hoped this conversation would be over soon. It made him rather uncomfortable. He knew Danny was more open about that, probably because he grew up with a lot of siblings, brothers in particular.

"Not even in the Navy? I mean I guess you were deployed quite a bit and not many opportunities to see your girlfriend, so..."

Now Steve was kind of at the end of his rope, and he wanted this conversation finished. Now. One final sentence had to do. "Danny, there's not a lot of privacy in the Navy, but just because you're jerking off next to your buddy doesn't mean you want him to do it for you. Does that answer your question? And can we _**please**_ change the subject now?"

Danny laughed at the language his normally very polite friend had reverted to. He knew that Steve could curse with the best of them, he was in the Navy after all, but he never did so in public. And he never reverted to 'guy talk', or at least very seldom. "Okay, fine, change of subject. Any preferences?"

"Yeah. Quiet would be nice," Steve told his partner with a glare.

"Fine. I can do that," Danny said.

"As if," Steve muttered under his breath and took the binoculars to his eyes again. "We have movement," he suddenly called out a minute later.

H50 - H50 - H50

Catherine and Kono wiped their tears of laughter off their faces. They had listened to the boys talking and first they awwed at what Steve had said about Cath and then outright laughed at the ongoing conversation. They had been very tempted to cut the sound, but didn't do it.

They debated to tell them that they were still on an open com-link, but that would tell them that the girls had listened to every word. No matter from what side they were looking at it the two women were screwed if Steve and Danny ever found out they had been listening.

"If you ever so much as breathe a word, Kono, your body will never be found."

"Same to you, sista," Kono answered.

The two women fist bumped and turned back to the radio just in time to hear Steve's alarmed words.

"We have movement."

"Steve, Kono here. What do you see, we don't have a visual."

There was a pregnant pause on the radio, and the two women looked in alarm at each other, both mouthing _shit_ at the same time. They hadn't thought about the fact that they shouldn't _**know**_ about the movement if they had no visual. Only way to know about it was if they had heard Steve.

H50 - H50 - H50

Steve looked at Danny, wondering how Kono knew about the movement since they hadn't called it in yet. But he didn't have time to ponder it any longer. They saw a person being dragged out of the house to the car parked on the front lawn.

Four burly guys were in the process of pushing the person into the trunk of a black Sedan. That definitely was enough of a probable cause for the two men to jump out of the car.

Well, one man was jumping out, whereas the other cursed and grabbed his leg that had cramped as soon as he stood up. After spending over four hours in one position the injured muscle screamed its protest of the sudden movement.

Steve held on to the Camaro's door and cursed even more when the pain made his eyes water. He pushed down on it and pulled on the vest he had grabbed from the back seat. Steve looked over at his partner who was already done with his vest.

A moment later Steve was equally clad in protective gear and after closing the driver's door limped around the hood of the car.

"Steve, you okay?"

"Yeah, yeah, just need to walk it off," Steve told his friend. The doctor at the ER earlier had declared the muscle severely bruised but no tears were detected. Which didn't mean it didn't hurt like hell and would only get worse in the next 24 hours.

They both saw Kono and Cath coming down the street. It had only been about half a minute since Steve had called the movement and the four guys were still struggling with the person when the four Five-0's moved as one and entered the grounds of their target.

It didn't even take a minute to arrest all four of them and free their hostage. No shots had been fired, not even a tackle or any kind of 'action' had been needed. As soon as the four had been confronted by the task force they had surrendered their guns and were taken into custody.

Steve leaned against a low wall and had his hand protectively on his painful leg. He pushed away from the wall and limped over to his friends and smiled, thinking that Chin would be really miffed when he learned he had missed all the fun. Chin and Leilani were spending the night with Leilani's sister visiting from the mainland. Steve had insisted that Chin should not cancel. They wouldn't really need him for the surveillance.

"What are you smiling at?" Danny asked him after Steve joined his team.

"Chin will be livid," Steve told them. "He wanted to take them down, after he had done all the background work."

"He'll get over it," Kono piped up. "So, are we done here? I'm starved. Who wants to grab something to eat?"

"Not me, I'm beat," Steve said and leaned on Catherine's shoulder to take a little weight off his leg.

"Are you okay? How's your leg?" Cath asked and looked at Steve.

"I'm good. Sitting in a car listening to Danny for over four hours would do anyone in."

"Hey! I was going to offer lending you a hand, but that offer is now off the table," Danny said in mock anger.

"I don't want your hand, thank you very much. I can do it on my own just fine."

Both Kono and Catherine erupted in peals of laughter at his comment; so much so that they actually had to wipe tears off their cheeks.

Steve and Danny looked in irritation at the two laughing women and then looked at each other, shrugging their confusion. Steve turned to Danny and whispered, "too much time in close quarters." Which elicited another laughing fit.

Danny only shook his head and took his friend's arm off Catherine's shoulder, threw it over his own and helped his limping friend to their car. Leaving behind their obviously crazy female team members.

"Women," he muttered. "I'll never understand 'em."

H50 - H50 - H50


	3. SEALs Don't Pout

_**Pillow Talk**_

"_**SEALs Don't Pout"**_

_**By Cokie**_

_**Chapter 3... does anyone want to read slight whump? **_

_**I decided to post this tonight after a very traumatic day. Sam and I are tag-team writing a story and this afternoon, just as I was ready to save it and send to her... my computer screen went black and everything froze. I finally managed to get it back up and the auto-recovery screen was on. I clicked the file to save it... and lost everything again. I cursed, I cried, I begged for it to work. After an hour and a half I gave up. I am NOT a happy camper tonight. That was 10 pages I have to recreate... and as any writer knows, it is impossible to get back what you wrote the first time. So, barring any further disasters, I pray this sends... :)**_

Catherine walked out of the bathroom in sleep shorts and a tank top, drying her damp hair with a white towel. She glanced up and caught the expression on Steve's face and had to grin.

"How long ago did you perfect that look?" she asked.

Steve propped himself up on his elbows and glared at her. "Huh? What look?"

"The one you're using right now… the 'I-can't-believe-this-really-happened' pout."

He flopped back down on his pillows and grimaced from the sudden movement. "Not pouting. SEALs don't pout."

Cath sat down on the side of the bed. "Really? I beg to differ. That is a definite pout." She touched his lower lip with her finger and then leaned down and kissed his forehead. "Come on, it won't be so bad."

"Ya think? I have to show up at a meeting with the governor tomorrow wearing this… this thing." He glared at the clean, white brace surrounding his left leg from mid-thigh to mid-calf. "It's embarrassing as hell."

"OK, Steve, it isn't that bad. The governor will not think less of you because you got injured," Cath told him and smoothed his hair back, happy that it finally was getting a little longer.

"But he will ask how it happened," Steve complained.

"Well, yeah, probably. I mean he is your boss. It would be good if he showed a little concern."

"Do I have to tell him the truth?" he asked in a low voice.

"Come again? You want to lie about how it happened? Steve, come on," she said, not able to keep the grin from her face. "It was an accident. And since several people know about it, I sincerely doubt you can get away with a lie. What would you tell him anyway?"

"That I tackled a suspect."

"Steve. Really?"

He covered his eyes with his arm. "Better than the damn truth," he mumbled.

Catherine got up and took the towel back to the bathroom before sliding into bed beside him. "You know, accidents _**do**_ happen all the time."

"Not like this," Steve muttered, still covering his face. "At least not to me."

"Well, now it did. And you're going to have to deal with it."

He dropped his arm onto the pillow behind his head. "I should've been more aware. Should have seen it coming."

"Steve, you were watching Grace and me on roller blades. You don't have eyes in the back of your head. Now stop being so sensitive."

He turned his head to glare at her. "Sensitive? You think I'm sensitive because I don't like being injured and not be able to do my job?"

"No, I think you're being sensitive because you are embarrassed that a seven year old kid ran you over with a bicycle." Catherine's patience only went so far.

"That's ridiculous."

"Is it?"

"Yeah." The pout was back. "I'm just mad because the doctor said desk duty for two weeks and then you and Danny said you would make sure I followed orders. I mean, I'm not a kid and I can make my own decisions."

He followed the statement up with crossing both arms across his chest, the lower lip in pout mode.

Cath hid her smile. "I see. Well, you have torn ligaments in your knee from the high velocity blunt force of the bike's wheel. When the doctor said you needed to stay off of it for two weeks, you complained. When he said the other alternative was to be admitted and have surgery in the next day or so, you complained. You complained when he put the brace on. And you loudly complained when he showed you the crutches. Steve, the choice is either stay off the leg or have surgery… which will sideline you for more than a couple of weeks. Bottom line, suck it up, Sailor."

"You think I'm a baby."

She couldn't help it. Catherine laughed. "Oh, my goodness, I do not think you're a baby. Come on, you're hurt, you're in pain and you won't take any medication. I don't think you're a baby… just stubborn. And you know what?" she added, scooting closer and circling her arm around his chest.

"What?"

"I think we need to sleep. Are you sure you don't want one of the pills we got?"

"Don't need it."

"Right." She glanced down at his leg which was propped on pillows beneath his knee and ankle. "Do the pillows feel OK? Not too high?"

"They're fine."

"OK, good." Catherine reached over and turned off the light and then laid her head on Steve's shoulder, kissing his cheek. "Good night. I'm right here if you need anything, so don't hesitate to wake me if I go to sleep."

Steve sighed and wiggled until his arm was beneath her head. "I'm good. Just go to sleep and maybe this will be better in the morning."

"Positive thinking; I like that." She raised up and they kissed and she situated the sheet across his waist and chest, leaving his leg out. She kept her hand on his stomach and settled back down.

And she waited. She could feel the tension in his body and knew he wasn't going to get to sleep any time soon. She also knew he was hurting by the way he would grip the pillow at random intervals. And she stood it for as long as she could.

"Steve, you need a pain pill."

"No, I'm fine. Was almost asleep."

"Liar. Would you please take one?"

"Cath, come on, you know they make my head feel all mushy. I've got to meet with the governor tomorrow."

"The meeting isn't until 1300. You'll be fine by then."

"No, can't take the chance."

"That's over twelve hours from now. I think a pill will have worn off."

"Don't need it, but thanks."

Catherine sighed but shut up and laid still. After another hour, she could take no more. She sat up and stared at him in the moonlight coming in from the window.

"OK, we both know this isn't working."

"Huh?" Steve grunted.

"Don't pretend to be asleep. I can tell you're wide awake."

Steve sighed. "What gave it away?"

"Oh, maybe the way you have your pillow in a death grip. Or the fact that I can see the ridge in your jaw line because your teeth are clenched so tightly. Will you _**please**_ take a pain pill? Look, here's the water and here's the pills."

"Don't be mad."

"Oh, Steve… I am not mad. I just want you to feel better and this isn't the way. Come on. Please?"

"What time is it?" he asked.

"It's 0230. Plenty of time for a couple of pills before your meeting tomorrow."

"I'll try one… just one."

"Thank goodness," she whispered beneath her breath.

"Huh?"

"I said, 'that's good to know'," she said, reaching for the pill bottle. "Hopefully this will kick the pain pretty quickly."

Steve raised up on one elbow and took the pill from her fingers before taking the water bottle and swallowing it down. "There, you happy?"

She sat on the edge of the bed. "Ecstatic," she replied, wrapping her arms around him, one hand playing with the hair at the nape of his neck. She leaned down, their foreheads touching. "I just want you to feel better."

"I know. I don't mean to be a grump."

She gave him little nibbling kisses. "I know you hate this and I understand. But when you are hurt, I can't relax until you feel better."

"OK, now come back to bed."

"Be right there. I'm going to the bathroom. Do you need anything else?"

"Nope."

She was gone maybe three minutes. At the most. But when she returned, he was sprawled on the bed, his body already relaxed. She smiled and carefully got in beside him.

"Cath?"

"Who were you expecting?" she asked, a smile in her voice.

"Jus' you. C'mere." He turned his head to kiss her, hitting her in the nose. "Oops, sorry. That stuff works kinda fast. But my leg don't hurt no more."

She smiled at the slur in his voice. "That's really good to hear. Now, why don't you just go to sleep?"

"Wanna play around?"

She laughed. "Not right now."

"You sure?"

She had to smile at his whine. "Positive. We both need to sleep."

"M'kay. Maybe later." His eyes were already closed and he burrowed his face next to her shoulder.

She listened until his breathing evened out, then kissed his forehead. "Later, Commander."


	4. SEALs Are Human, Too

**Pillow Talk - Chapter 4**

_**A/N: I have to say I have been amazed at the response we have received from these little tales. I am so glad you are enjoying them because they are fun to write. And while I will admit they are a bit on the "fluffy" side, I will repeat to the reader who said we should be "Fluff-2-go" ...you know who you are… :-) that I will refuse that title! But thank you to everyone who is reading. I hope you continue to enjoy. **_

_**Cokie**_

_**Let them think we've gone soft, they will learn soon enough how very wrong they are. :-)**_

_**I am, like Cokie, overwhelmed and a bit surprised by the response to these, well, let's call them what they are, fluffy little things. Thank you all for reading... and remember... this fluffy stuff... don't get used to it. **_

_**Sam**_

* * *

><p><strong>SEALs are Human, Too<strong>

_**By Cokie & Sam**_

Steve quietly entered the bedroom and turned off the lamp before sliding into bed and spooning behind Catherine, careful not to wake her.

She sighed and reached for his hand, locking their fingers and pulling him closer. "I'm not asleep."

"Do you need anything?" he asked quietly, brushing his lips across her shoulder blade.

"A new head would be nice," she said and he could hear the smile in her voice. "This one hurts."

"I happen to like the one you have a lot. And I would hate to get rid of it."

"Yeah, well, you're not the one *in* it right now."

"Does it hurt much?" Steve asked, then leaned over and kissed her temple.

"Not as long as I don't move," Cath admitted. "My pride is hurt."

"You know what you told me once?" Steve asked. "That pride heals. And, as much as I hate to admit it, it is true."

"Yeah, sounded good when I told you that. I mean, how embarrassing is it to fall off a porch during a take down."

"You didn't exactly fall," he told her. "You were pushed by a 300 pound gorilla. And then you hit your head on concrete." He closed his eyes at the picture that was stamped on his brain and added in a lower voice, "Not to mention, you scared me half to death."

Catherine rolled over to her back and he moved with her. "Sorry. I didn't mean to."

"I need to apologize to Kono, and probably Danny too. I think I yelled at them at some point. Memory's a bit hazy," Steve sheepishly told her.

"How come?" Cath asked and turned her head to look at her friend.

"I was barking orders left and right. I think they were a bit shocked to see me like that, but I couldn't help it," Steve tried to explain how he had switched to SEAL-mode.

_Steve watched in terrifying horror as the huge Samoan, who Steve had been unable to stop when he stormed through the kitchen and out the back door, threw his weight into Catherine. The two were no match; Cath went flying like a rag doll and crashed through the porch's railing. The old weathered wood gave way and Catherine hit the concrete head first with a sickening sound._

_Steve felt like his heart had stopped watching her going down. He was on his knees after the 300 pound man had gone through him like one of the big line backers he had to face as a young quarterback. His ribs ached from the impact and sweat broke out when he drew in a ragged breath. But maybe that was because his girlfriend lay deadly still on the hot concrete just a few feet from him._

_But it only took a second to quell the rising panic; his training took over without any conscious thought on his part. Steve was back on his feet in a second flat and tackled their suspect with brutal force from behind. Steve didn't care that he smashed the Samoan's face into the ground or that he could hear his howl of pain when his nose broke. Steve pressed his knee into his suspect's back and cuffed his hands behind his back. He made sure that he couldn't get back to his feet and then turned back to Catherine._

_For a fraction of a second he hesitated, but then he was kneeling next to her. In his peripheral vision he saw Kono coming out the back door and heard Danny calling the all clear from further in the house._

_He pressed his bare index finger on Catherine's neck and prayed he would find a strong pulse. Steve breathed a sigh of relief when he found a pulse; not as strong as he had hoped, but the beat was good enough for now._

"_Kono! Call an ambulance," he told their youngest team member with what he later realized was his 'barking-orders-voice'. Something he had never used since he was with Five-0, and seldom before that. But now he obviously didn't care about anything else other than to get Cath help as soon as possible._

"_Danny!" He yelled for his friend to get out here._

_Steve gently probed Catherine's head for any bleeding wounds or palpable dents. He was happy to feel neither._

"_Steve. Jeez, is Cath okay?" Danny asked when he came out the house._

"_Danny, secure the perimeter. Make sure HPD takes the suspects to HQ, and keep those press people away," Steve told his partner without even looking up, he knew Danny would make sure the aftermath of the operation would go smoothly. Steve was angry that the press was already on the scene. _

_Steve looked up when he felt his shoulder being touched by Kono. "Steve, EMS will be here in about two minutes."_

"_Thank you," Steve said and turned back to Cath who had not made any sound or movement._

_He again checked her pulse and breathing, but so far it looked all good. Her breathing was even and her pulse was getting a little stronger._

"_She will be okay," he heard Kono say and only nodded without taking his eyes of his girlfriend._

_It worried him that she hadn't even twitched yet. He was concerned about a neck injury; that was why he was watching her like hawk. Any uncontrolled movement could have devastating consequences until they could put a c-collar on. The two minutes until the paramedics arrived seemed like an eternity, but finally they were there and Steve moved out of the way, but didn't take his eyes of Catherine._

_He was watching their every move and listened to the vitals they took. As far as he knew from his training they all looked good. But that didn't change the fact that the woman he loved was still unconscious at his feet. _

_Steve looked around and saw that Danny had the situation completely under control and that gave him the opportunity to stay with Catherine. He needed to thank Danny later for again having his back. Steve winked at his partner, indicating that he'd go with the ambulance. Steve smiled his thanks when Danny gave him the go ahead._

_The ride in the ambulance was short and uneventful. They reached Tripler in just a few minutes. Catherine was wheeled into one of the trauma bays and Steve was left standing outside, holding Catherine's tac vest, gun and badge. He had taken it off while in the ambulance. He suddenly felt a little lost, but that changed when a young corporal approached him._

"_Commander? Can you come with me please and fill out a few forms?"_

"_Can't that wait?" Steve asked and looked at the door Catherine had disappeared through._

"_They are going to take good care of your team member, I promise. Sir, I need those forms filled out," the corporal insisted._

"_Okay," Steve finally agreed. It might give him something to occupy his mind. Maybe it would help in erasing the picture of Catherine's head smashing into the concrete that seemed to be on an endless loop burning into his brain._

_Steve sat in one of the uncomfortable waiting room chairs and filled out what he thought were at least twenty different forms with all the same questions on them. It took him more than forty-five minutes to complete it all. When he was finally done and stood up, he grimaced when pain shot into his side. He ignored the twinge and walked over to the front desk._

_He felt a little dizzy and his side hurt a bit. Steve knew the afternoon's events were catching up with him. He hadn't slept much in the last two days, just like everyone else on his team. And he had been tackled into the ground by 300 pounds of pure muscle. Steve took a deep breath, which didn't hurt much, so he was pretty sure he would just be facing a few bruises._

"_Do you have any news on Catherine Rollins?" He asked the corporal who was going over the forms he had handed over._

"_No, but the doctor will be with you in a few minutes. They are just done with a scan," she informed him._

"_Thank you," Steve said and turned when the door to the trauma bay opened._

"_Commander McGarrett?"_

_Steve practically jogged over to the Colonel who just stuck his head out the door. "Yes, Sir. How is Lieutenant Rollins?"_

"_You can come and see for yourself. She was very lucky," Colonel Wilkes told Steve and led him to the cubicle Cath was in. "She has a minor concussion, no bleeding, no swelling. We're just waiting for her to fully wake up. If someone stays with her she can leave. But she should take it easy for the next two days."_

_Steve couldn't say anything, he just looked at his girlfriend, who was resting on the bed in the trauma bay and didn't really look worse to wear. "She's okay?" He finally whispered._

"_Yeah, she will be fine," the colonel told him with a smile._

_Steve tried to smile back, but his vision began to gray around the edges and he suddenly felt really dizzy and a little sick. He looked down at his hands and saw they were shaking. He felt a strong grip on his arm and realized he may have swayed to the side, but that was the last he felt before he simply crashed to the floor._

_When he opened his eyes he lay on a gurney with his feet elevated, an IV in his hand and a nurse next to him. _

"_Oh, hey, you're awake again. I'll go get the doctor."_

"_What happened?" Steve asked and looked groggily around the small room._

"_You went into shock. Don't worry, you're fine," the nurse assured him and left. _

_A couple of minutes later Colonel Wilkes came in, "Commander that was quicker than I thought. Nice to see you awake again. How do you feel?"_

"_Ah, not too bad. What just happened?" Steve asked again._

"_Well, you fainted. Don't look so shocked, happens to the best of us. The adrenaline dump, I would guess lack of sleep, dehydration and severely bruised ribs would have done the trick. But the shock of seeing your partner getting injured like that did the rest," Wilkes gave Steve the lowdown of what had happened._

"_I… fainted?" Steve asked disbelieving._

"_Passed out? Blacked out? Do either of those sound better?" The Colonel asked with a twinkle in his eyes. "When the saline is through you are free to go. IF you feel up to it. Your ribs are bruised but nothing's broken. You were both very lucky."_

"_Is Catherine awake yet?"_

"_No, but she will be shortly." He glanced at the bag of fluids hanging above the bed. "A few more minutes and we'll take out your IV; if you feel like it then you can go and sit with her."_

"_Thank you, Sir."_

"_You're welcome."_

Cath raised her head and looked at him. "You were injured? Why didn't you tell me?"

"It's nothing, really. Just some bruises."

"You passed out!"

"Not from injuries," Steve argued. It was still a sore point that he had fainted. He was a SEAL. SEALs don't faint. Damn it.

"You're human," Cath softly said, knowing exactly what he was just thinking. She laid her head on his chest. "But you can stop worrying now. I'm fine."

"You will be, but I'm still not letting you go to work tomorrow."

"Steve—"

"I'm not budging so you can save your breath. The doc said 48 hours of rest and I'm going to make sure you get it."

"Stop talking. My pillow doesn't talk."

"Huh? What the hell are you talking about?" He was suddenly worried the doc had been wrong and her brain did take a hit.

Catherine giggled. "I heard that in a movie once. '**The Back Up Plan**_**'**_. It was cute… in fact, since you won't let me do anything tomorrow I might see if it is on Netflix."

"What is it? Sounds like a car accident."

"No, silly. It's a chic-flick. In fact, you kind of remind me of Stan in the movie."

"Oh, _**please**_. I would never be caught dead in a chic-flick. Trust me."

"You might like it… he marries J Lo in it."

"Well, watching J Lo might be tolerable… even for a chic-flick. OW! What'd you do that for?" he asked when she slapped his side.

"Just because. And just for that, I might make you watch it with me."

"Because I remind you of the moron in the movie?"

"No, because if I'm going to be bored tomorrow, you can, too."

"Hate to break it to you, but I need to work," Steve tried to get out of watching a movie that was probably just as stupid as the rom-com they had seen in the theater. That was not gonna happen again.

"I don't think so. May I remind you that you fainted in the hospital, and therefore have to stay home as well?"

"The doc never said anything of me not being able to work," Steve reminded her as he nibbled on her earlobe.

"Stop that," Cath wiggled a little lower away from his mouth. "Don't start anything we can't finish," she told him with a smile in her voice. "You know, I think fainting and rom-coms are a good fit. Maybe I should ask Danny what he thinks of that concept."

"You wouldn't," Steve cried out.

"Wanna bet?"

"That is extortion. I could book you for that," Steve told her.

"Uh, would that involve handcuffs?" Cath asked and playfully let her hand travel below his sleep shorts' waistband.

"Didn't you just say not to start... uh, you really wanna do... Cath," Steve whined when she let her hand wander upwards again.

"Let's sleep, and in the morning you can book me all you want, Commander."

"That's the best deal I've heard all day."

H50 - H50 - H50


	5. Nothin' Says Lovin' Like Camo and MREs

_**Pillow Talk **_

"_**Nothin' Says Lovin' Like Camo and MREs"**_

_**By Cokie**_

_**Author's Note: Rumor has it that Sam and I are off plotting terrible things for Steve. Just to show that the "fluffy gene" is still in place, we are offering you the following for your reading pleasure. But... just for the record, be on the lookout for "Stairway to Heaven", coming soon to a fanfic box near you! Cokie**_

_**Oh yeah, that 'rumor' put a huge smile on my face. Cokie's right, you should enjoy the fluffiness as long as it lasts. ;-) Sam**_

_**~~~H50~~~**_

Steve dragged himself home at 0134 after a full work day that had begun the previous morning at 0445.

At that time, his sleep had been interrupted when he had received a phone call from the governor's office. The daughter of one of the governor's aides didn't come home from a party that was held at a friend's house. The aide and her husband had gone to the address of the party and learned that their daughter and two college guys had left before midnight. Unfortunately the boys had not been invited and no one there even knew who they were.

That is, the ones who were still conscious didn't know who they were. Five-0 hauled everyone in… in a paddy wagon no less, along with the older brother in the house who happened to be the "chaperone" and the "adult".

They had spent the day talking to hung over teens after calling all the parents that morning. The parents whose house had been used were on the big island and made a hasty return home after spending five minutes on the phone with Chin.

Five-0 had spent the day tracking down leads, in a day-long deluge of rain, but thankfully the girl had been found in a soggy tent on the beach, still with the two boys she left with. Unfortunately she had been drugged and tests at the hospital had showed she had had intercourse in the last few hours. So the case was being treated as a kidnapping and rape and both men were spending the night in separate holding cells.

Maybe by tomorrow when they reached the blue room, they would be ready to talk. Steve was certain he would make them.

Steve was normally a very neat, well organized person. That trait had been ingrained in him from living with his dad for sixteen years, but the Navy certainly ensured he remain that way. But tonight, he was soggy, his clothes were still damp and he was here by himself; Catherine was on reserve duty and wouldn't return until sometime late tomorrow. His boots came off at the top of the stairs. His mud-caked shirt was tossed inside the bedroom door and his cargoes were dropped at the end of the bed. His boxers and tee shirt felt relatively dry, so Steve pulled back the covers and crawled inside all in one fast move.

His last conscious thought was that he needed sleep tonight… Catherine would be home tomorrow and he hoped the evening would be filled with something other than sleep.

And sometimes a guy just needed to refuel…

_**~~~H50~~~**_

He was aware that his phone pinged around 0430.

_Not again._

Steve reached out his hand to try to find the phone on the night stand, but had no luck.

_Gotta be here somewhere._

He then vaguely remembered dropping his pants on the floor, so he flipped in the bed and reached for the pants at the end of it. Feeling for the phone in the darkness, he finally found it and used his thumb to activate the screen. Steve opened one eye and read the text, smiled in his half-wakeful state and remained where he was, on his stomach at the opposite end of the bed. He closed his eyes and was back asleep before the screen on the phone deactivated.

The message was short and sweet. _On my way home, don't shoot me._

**_~~~H50~~~_**

Catherine opened the front door hesitantly. She had sent a text message to Steve telling him she was on her way but didn't receive a reply and didn't want her boyfriend rounding the corner upstairs with a weapon in his hand.

Once had been enough and she had learned _**that **_lesson quickly.

But all was quiet in the house, so she left her duffel in the living room and made her way upstairs. She found his boots in the hallway and smiled.

_Rough night, Commander?_

The bedroom door was partially open and she could see his shadow in the dim light of early morning. Smiling, she went to the bathroom, picking up his damp shirt on the way, before moving closer to the bed.

Steve was sleeping at the bottom end of the bed, his head on one bent arm; the other arm hanging off the bed, still holding the cell phone. He was still wearing his shorts and tee shirt from the day before. At least she presumed so because there was a mud-colored stain on the back of the shirt.

Catherine was tired and truly wished to climb into bed with him without waking him. Unfortunately, he pretty much spread-eagled all over the bed and she really didn't appreciate that foot in its dirty sock on her pillow. Hating to do so, she decided he needed to move.

"Hey," Cath whispered in his ear. "Wake up, Steve."

"Hmm, you home?"

"Yeah," she replied, taking the phone from his fingers. "Want to move up where you belong?"

"Nah, 'm good. C'mere."

His hand tried to blindly reach for her.

"No! Down boy. Come on, Steve, I'm beat and have no place to sleep. Move."

"Oh."

He began twisting on the bed and pulled away the covers to climb back in, holding them for her as well. "Now, c'mere." He opened his eyes and saw her remove her shirt. He blinked, seeing her in her black tee shirt and camo pants that she was just unzipping.

"You're wearing cammies?" he asked, rubbing a hand over his eyes.

"Not for long," she replied, dropping them. "I'm exhausted, apparently you are, too, and I want to get some sleep. Thankfully this is Saturday. Maybe your phone won't ring at the butt-crack of dawn."

Steve squinted at the window. "I think this _**is**_ the butt-crack of dawn."

Catherine climbed into the bed and snuggled in close. "Then pray that phone is silent."

Steve offered his arm and she cozied up to his shoulder. "Did you take a shower?"

"Eh… was waiting for you."

"Gee, thanks," she replied around a huge yawn. "Bad case?"

"A way long day. And not much sleep. You know the best thing about you being on reserve duty?" He couldn't contain his own big yawn.

"No," she said and yawned again.

"Coming home in your camo. That's nice."

"I brought you a present," she said. "Will show you tomorrow."

"What?"

"Steve, let's sleep."

"What'd you bring me?"

"I picked up a couple of beef stew MREs. So if you want to have play time tomorrow, I suggest we get some sleep."

"Camo and MREs? Sweet. You're my kind of woman, Rollins."

"Damn straight I am. Now will you shut up?"

"Aye, aye, Lieutenant. Just be prepared to report for kitchen duty tomorrow."

They went to sleep with matching smiles on their faces.

_**~~~H50~~~**_


	6. Good Vibrations

**Author's Note:** A couple of years ago I did some research into Hawaiian myths and legends, thinking that someday I might do a Hawaiian ghost story. Well, that hasn't happened yet, but I thought this superstition (or is it?) was interesting.

And I immediately thought about Danny and his disbelief of all of what he calls "mumbo jumbo". I hope you enjoy. Cokie

* * *

><p><em><strong>Pillow Talk<strong>_

"_**Good Vibrations"**_

_**By Cokie**_

"I'm doing it again."

"Mmm…" Steve was too busy canoodling on Catherine's neck to stop and talk. His lips traveled from the crook of her shoulder up behind her earlobe, which, in actuality, was driving her crazy.

But she was still distracted.

Catherine arched her shoulders, essentially pushing him away. "It is really distracting, Steve."

Steve raised his head and looked at her. "What?" He leaned in again and grinned. "I thought…" What he thought was garbled when he zoned in on her lips.

"I'm 'v'a'rin…STOP!"

She pushed.

And he opened his eyes to stare at her. "What the hell's wrong?"

She began feeling beneath the covers. "If you would let me say something… I'm vibrating."

"Oh." He grinned.

"The phone, you dummy. Why the heck do we have to sleep with it?"

"Oh, that." Steve's excitement from a moment before turned into a pout. He did a dive beneath the sheet. "I'll get it."

She sucked in her breath. "_**That**_ wasn't the phone," she managed to squeak while he was groping beneath the covers.

"Damn," he said, glancing at the phone log while throwing the sheet off his head. "It was Danny. What the hell does he want at zero thirty hours?"

"Maybe you got a case and we didn't hear the phone. But just now was the first time I felt the vibrations. You'd better call him," she said in a resigned tone.

"Might as well," Steve grumbled. "Not doing anything else." He hit redial for his partner, holding the phone in one hand and snaking his other arm under Catherine to draw her closer to him.

"Steve, sorry to call so late. Are you still up?"

Cutting a glance toward Cath, Steve mumbled, "Not anymore." The comment earned him a slap on his stomach but Catherine couldn't control her laughter, which caused him to laugh, too. "What's wrong, Danno?"

"Sorry, Steve but I need some help. The car died and I need a lift."

"Now?"

"Well, yeah. I went to the grocery and spent a fortune and I don't know what's wrong but this brand new Camaro just up and died. The battery's getting a charge, but it just won't start. I've got a lot of frozen food that needs to get in the freezer."

"OK, where are you?"

"On the Pali, about –"

"Wait. You're on the Pali?"

"Yeah, I'm just—"

Steve groaned. "Please tell me you didn't buy any pork?"

"Excuse me? I'm stuck on the side of the road and you want me to read my grocery list?"

"No, seriously Danny, did you buy any pork?"

"Yeah… a ham steak? Why the hell does that matter?"

"Aw, geez, I'll be there in a few. But I'm warning you, that ham isn't going in my truck. It stays behind."

"Steven, what the hell do you have against my ham?"

"It's not _**me**_, Danny, it's Pele. If you drive the Pali at night with pork in the car, she'll stop your car every time. I've seen it before—"

"Hold on… you actually _**believe**_ that bunch of nonsense? Steve, I thought you were beyond all that superstitious mumbo-jumbo."

"Don't make fun, Danno. Now first thing we have to do is throw away the ham and then see if the car works. My guess is that it will start right up."

"I will not throw away my ham."

"Are you prepared to sit by the side of the road until daylight?"

"Well, no, why would I-?"

"I'm telling you, either the ham goes or you sit because that ham isn't getting in my truck."

"Oh, now, that's just ridiculous. Let me talk to Catherine. Maybe she will be sane and reasonable about this. Of all the crazy, asinine ideas…"

"Cath, would you pick up Danny _**and**_ his ham on the Pali tonight?"

"Hell, no."

"Did you hear that, Danno? See, I told you!"

"You people are certifiable. An old, dead god can't dislike my brand new ham. I'm calling Chin!"

"So, you don't want a ride?"

"No, I don't. My ham and I will wait for Chin Ho."

"OK, I'm guessing you'll see him around six. You know, after daylight. Because he won't give your ham a ride either!"

"Good bye, Steven." The phone suddenly shut off.

Steve chuckled and set his phone back on the bed and reached for his pants. "There is no reasoning with some people."

"You don't really believe Pele doesn't like ham, do you?" Catherine asked.

"Not really, but I've seen too much that can't be explained. The ham stays behind. I don't want to have trouble with the truck while it's still under warranty."

"You're going to pick him up?"

"Yeah, of course. He's my partner. I'll call Chin on the way and tell him not to bother."

Catherine climbed out of bed. "I'm coming with… listening to his rant might be worth losing an hour's sleep."

"OK, but when we get back, we're gonna finish that vibration thing."

"That's a deal, Commander. No superstitions there!"

~~~H50~~~

**_An hour later…_**

"He's still pretty pissed." Catherine came into the house in front of Steve, then waited while he reset the alarm.

"Yeah, well, he'll get over it. Throwing away the damn ham was cheaper than getting the car towed."

"Agreed, but when you threw it down the hill I thought he was going to jump after it."

"Well, we could have said that the mo'o wahine led him away. That has happened on the Pali, too."

"I didn't know you were so superstitious," Catherine said, climbing the stairs to head back to bed.

"I don't consider it superstitious," Steve said, following behind her. "I was raised to be respectful of certain myths. We got that from my grandmother. She was very 'into' honoring the island that became her home."

"My family calls that 'old wives' tales'," Cath said. "Speaking of," she turned around and grinned at him. "Have you ever heard the one about 'you'd better finish what you start'?"

Steve grinned back and pulled off his tee shirt. "Oh yeah?" He grabbed her by the waist and pushed her backward on the bed, landing next to her. "I understand you like good vibrations."

~~~H50~~~

* * *

><p><em>The Nu'uanu Pali Pass has been filled with superstition from ancient times. After the Pali Highway was built, those superstitions continue, one of which is that the goddess Pele won't allow any pork to travel the highway, especially at night. Cars have been known to stop andor die along the roadway if they are carrying pork._

_In reading this superstition, I immediately thought of Danny._

_If you are interested in learning more information about the superstition, please head over to **Mostly Five-0** for more of the story!_

mostlyfive0 dot wordpress dot com


	7. The Elephant in the Room

_**Pillow Talk**_

_**The Elephant in the Room **_

_**By Cokie**_

_**Author's Note: I feel like I'm in withdrawal at not having posted anything for a couple of weeks. This is short and silly, but I hope you enjoy! Cokie**_

_**~~~H50~~~**_

Steve was glad it was Friday and this week was over. He and Danny had just gotten back from a trip to the Big Island where they had testified in a drug trafficking case. Thankfully the two perps had been convicted and sentenced for their crimes. The two officers had had a late meal before their flight home and now all Steve wanted was to say hello to Catherine and get out of his suit.

Maybe not in that order.

He had texted when they reached the airstrip on Oahu and told her he would be home soon. She had answered, saying she was in bed, reading, and not worry about trying not to wake her up. She also said she had something to talk to him about.

_Crap. He hated lead-ins like that._

He had casually mentioned to Danny that Cath had wanted to talk and his partner just shook his head, immediately asking what Steve had done. This time.

He swore that he hadn't done anything, but Danny had that look. The one that said 'you're in deep shit and don't even know it.' When Steve got out of the Camaro at his house, Danny came around the car to drive home.

He slapped Steve on the back as he passed and said, "Good luck, Buddy."

"Danny, stop. I swear everything's fine."

"So you say. All you can do is hope for the best. Call me if you need anything… like bandages, an ice pack… a night on my couch…"

"Shut up, Danno and get outta here," Steve told his friend with a forced chuckle. He hoped none of the mentioned options would be needed tonight.

Steve locked the door and set the alarm before heading upstairs, taking off his jacket as he took the steps. From the doorway, he glanced at Catherine, looking all cozy in bed with who-knew-how-many pillows stuffed behind her.

"Hey, Handsome," she greeted him with a grin, setting aside her book.

"Hey, yourself," he said. "I missed you." Steve hung up his jacket and then began unbuttoning his dark blue shirt.

"So, today was a success?" Cath asked.

"Yeah, really good. It was worth every hassle we went through to get those two behind bars," Steve told her thinking about all the trouble they had to go through to make the charges stick.

"That's good. Are you hungry?" she asked.

Steve shook his head and removed the shirt, tossing it into the hamper in the closet. "I had dinner with Danny." He headed to the bathroom, asking, "What'd you want to talk about?" over his shoulder.

"It will wait until you're back in here," she called to him over the sound of running water.

_Shit._

Steve wracked his brain trying to think of something he had done to upset her, but was coming up empty. They had an easy relationship and had had very few real fights during their times together. But he was thinking that possibly tonight might change that, because he was getting a very strange vibe from Catherine.

After postponing the inevitable as long as he could with an extra-long brushing of his teeth, Steve walked back into the bedroom and stripped out of his dress trousers, taking care to hang them in the closet. He grabbed a pair of sleep pants and moved toward the bed, sliding in and leaning over to give her a kiss.

"Sorry, I should have done that as soon as I got in," he said, smiling at her. He stopped short of batting his eyelashes, thinking that might be a trick for later.

Or never.

But many years ago, he had overheard his mother tell a friend of hers that all Steve had to do was bat those long eyelashes and her heart melted.

It was a last ditch weapon and one that was rarely used. At least consciously. And he prayed to God he didn't have to use it tonight.

Catherine tossed a couple of pillows on the floor and got comfortable next to him, her head lying in the crook of his arm.

"How was your day?" he began.

"Good. We finished up most of the paperwork from this week and we all went to Kamekona's for lunch. Tonight I went through a few of the boxes I brought with me from my house; got rid of some things and then stored the others."

"That's good," he mumbled, kissing her temple. "Remember, I told you to take all the room you need. We can rearrange anything to fit your things in. I want you to feel at home and happy here. "

"Yeah, I know," she told him, pulling away just a bit. "And speaking of, that leads me to the question

I have for you."

_Here it comes._

"OK, shoot," he said, hoping to sound very nonchalant when he was anything but.

"Well, this isn't so easy to ask," she began and scooted up in bed. "I know we've been together off and on for several years, right?"

_Well, duh, yeah._

"Uh, sure. Lots of good years."

"And I know that when we were in an off-phase, you saw other women, and I dated-"

"Cath, what's this about? I thought we said that the past was the past. I know you've dated some guys but I don't want to know any details."

"Yeah, right," she agreed, but he noticed she was having trouble looking at him.

"Cath, tell me what's wrong."

"Well, I mean, we've had some really good sex, right?"

"Hell, yeah. I mean," he stopped talking, trying to think where this possibly could be headed… "yes, of course. It was good for you, too, right?" Steve asked, suddenly worried that she wasn't satisfied with their sex life.

"Absolutely." She did glance at him and gave him a beautiful smile before looking back down to the sheet that she was picking apart. "Only," she finished in a quieter tone, "I never knew that you liked um… kinky sex."

"Excuse me?" he squeaked. "Who told you that?"

"Well, no one, actually. I just sort of figured it out after I saw the picture." Cath put both hands on her face and finally admitted, "Really, I wasn't snooping, but today when I was making room in the top of the closet for some stuff, I came across some pictures. I didn't know that box was off limits, Steve, I swear I didn't."

Steve turned on his side and stared at her. "Tell me what the heck you're talking about. I don't have any pictures—"

"Um, yeah, you do," she interrupted him and reached over to the nightstand. "And I have the proof right here. I mean, really Steve, I don't think I've ever seen a more amorous pose." She picked up a picture and turned it over, taking another look at it before he snatched it from her hand.

He stared at it and then a wide grin appeared on his face. "That's Bombay!"

"Your girlfriend was named 'Bombay'?" Cath asked, snuggling up closer to him and laughing. "I thought I was going to bust something this afternoon when I found this. I was laughing so hard and couldn't wait to ask you about it."

"You scared the piss out of me," Steve admitted with a sigh of relief. "I thought you were mad at something I had done."

"Not mad, just really concerned about your sex life," she replied, still chuckling. "Now, tell me about you and Bombay."

Steve continued to look at the photo. "Wow, that was such a long time ago."

"And you look so cute in your white sailor suit and cocky little hat!" Steve was facing the camera with a look of surprise on his face. A baby elephant was standing to his right, its trunk wrapped around Steve's shoulders, the end of it on Steve's left ear. "So, tell me the story."

"It was me, Freddy and a couple others on our first trip out. We had been cooped up for what seemed like forever on board and were given 48 hours shore leave when we docked in Thailand. We couldn't wait to grab some beer and found a little hole in the wall along a main 'street', grabbed a table and started drinking and watching the crowd. The city was filthy and there were vendors all along both sides of the dirt street, if you could even call it a street.

"Did the elephant ask you for a dance or did you see her first?" Cath asked with a giggle.

"You're enjoying this, aren't you?"

"Absolutely. I love this picture!"

"This old man was working his way down the street with this little elephant, offering to take a Polaroid picture with her for what he considered a "nominal fee". Every time someone would have their picture taken, he would give her a banana, I guess to try and keep her calm. Anyway, remember we had probably been drinking beer non-stop for at least an hour. A couple people around us had their pictures taken and poor Bombay… we had already named it… was still hungry. So we decided to feed her."

His grin widened as he thought back to that night and Catherine loved seeing the memory play out on his face.

"There was an old woman a few storefronts down selling fried bananas and we went and bought her entire stalk of bananas, but wouldn't let her fry them. Freddy and I walked along behind the elephant man and kept slipping bananas to Bombay. When he would turn around, we would try to blend in with all the other nightlife so he wouldn't yell at us. But finally we were out of bananas and knew that Bombay wasn't hungry anymore after all that we fed her. We decided we needed more beer and turned to go back to the bar we had been in."

"That's nice that you fed a hungry animal," Cath told him. "But when did you get the picture taken?"

"This picture kept me out of the Thai pokey for the weekend!"

"Your first leave and you almost landed in jail?"

"Yeah, and it wasn't funny. We were walking down the street and all of a sudden someone started yelling and then police whistles started blowing and when we turned around, Bombay was running after us just as fast as her fat little feet could carry her through the crowd. The owner told the police we were trying to kidnap her…. OK, Cath, it isn't that funny," Steve scolded her when she again broke out into giggles.

"Hearing you tell it, it is," she replied.

"When they caught up with us, the police were going to arrest us, but we offered to pay for pictures with Bombay if the man would drop the charges. We each had to pay for ten pictures—"

"So there's more than this one?" she asked.

"No, that was the only one that turned out of me and Bombay," Steve told her. "The guy had a crappy old Polaroid camera with probably outdated film in it. Anyway, Bombay got a little fresh…"

Catherine held the picture up. "A little? She is smitten with you. I love it. And I need to frame it and set it out somewhere."

"No, I don't think that's necessary," Steve told her, mortified at the thought everyone coming to the house seeing that picture.

"Oh, but it is. What a conversation piece," she told him.

"_That's_ what I'm afraid of!"

"Just think how Danny would love to hear that story."

"Not gonna happen," Steve said while punching his pillow to get comfortable.

"And Grace. She needs to hear it." Catherine set the photo on the nightstand and scooted down next to him, wrapping her arm around his neck. She leaned in closer and gave him a kiss, whispering, "so, is this what you like?"

He jumped when she began playing with her finger in his earlobe. "Like this?" she asked with a grin.

"Cath, that's not funny." He removed her arm from around his neck and pulled her closer so that their faces were almost touching. "You know what's really funny?" he asked.

"There's more?"

He leaned in to whisper. "I'm not sure if Bombay was even a girl."

She immediately laughed. "And you think I'm not telling your team this story? Dream on, Commander."

_I found this story in __**Tales of the U.S. Navy**__ on the internet. While there were some "tall tales" on the site, I don't know the validity of this one. Therefore, I can neither confirm nor deny if this ever happened. Cokie_


	8. Aftershock

_**Pillow Talk**_

_**Aftershock, a tag scene for Hookman**_

_**By Cokie**_

He sat, sprawled, in a wooden chair at the edge of his yard, listening to the waves gently lapping against the shore. The night was dark; the clouds hanging heavy in the sky. The rain from earlier in the day had lightened to a fine mist, clinging to his skin and hair, but he was unaware of it. A tumbler with a finger or so of Makers Mark was setting on his leg, held loosely in his left hand; the bottle of Makers was within reach on the small table. Five empty Longboards were on the ground next to his bare foot. He still wore his clothes from the day, but his boots had been kicked off as soon as he came into the house.

His right elbow was on the chair arm, his bowed head propped up with his fist. In the background he heard the sound of a car door and knew he had company, but wasn't willing to seek them out.

Let them come to him. He was just… tired. If he was lucky, whoever it was might knock on the door, and not getting an answer, get back in the car and leave him alone. He wouldn't make for good company tonight, and when he was honest he just wanted to be alone. Too many thoughts… and demons… were taking up residence in his mind.

~~~H50~~~

Catherine climbed out of her car and slammed the door, anxious to get inside and out of her uniform. She had been out on maneuvers for a week and a half, but in a surprise move, they had docked about twelve hours earlier than expected. A fact which meant she was back on dry land on Friday night rather than Saturday morning.

And since she was at Steve's, it was a win all the way around.

The truck was there but the house was dark, so she tested the door handle. The front door was surprisingly unlocked and Cath entered and listened to the quietness of the house, not sensing Steve's presence. She set down her duffel bag by the stairs and walked through to the back of the house, finding the lanai door open. She could make out his figure sitting out near the water and warning bells began ringing in her head. Something was 'off' about his posture and she immediately jumped to the conclusion that he had been injured.

She walked across the yard toward the beach, clearing her throat along the way so not to startle him.

"Hey, Commander," she began.

Steve turned his head in her direction and a ghost of a smile crossed his lips. "Hey. You're not supposed to be here until tomorrow." She could clearly hear the question behind it.

"Well… surprise. We docked early." She slid one arm around his shoulders and leaned down for a kiss, which he half-heartedly reciprocated. Cath could smell the whiskey on his breath and saw the glass still held in his hand. She hesitated, but had to know. "Everything OK?" she asked, rubbing her hand across his back. _No visual injuries_. Although she had noticed that he hadn't made eye contact with her and those warning bells began pealing.

"Uh, yeah, I'm good."

She thought maybe he was trying to convince himself.

"You're getting wet," Cath told him with a smile.

"Huh?" He looked up and blinked, just then noticing the water droplets on his eyelashes. "Oh, yeah. I- uh, sorry. Didn't even notice." He brought the glass to his lips then looked at it like he didn't even know how it got there. After a sip, he made a face and tossed the rest of it aside.

Catherine moved to stand in front of him; she just had to know. "Steve, are you injured in any way?"

He looked up at her and gave a crooked smile. "No, I'm fine." He then shook his head, "Well, maybe not really fine, but I'm not hurt."

She glanced down at the empty bottles at his feet. "What time did Danny leave?"

Steve let out a sigh and leaned back in his chair, reaching for her hand to tug her down. She gladly sat on his lap, her arm once again around his shoulders. "Danny has Grace tonight," he explained. "I guess I drank those alone."

"Want to tell me what happened?" she asked.

Steve looked out at the ocean, lost in thought once again. "I'm not even sure. In case you're wondering… the gov'er… the governor told me not to go to the office until Monday, so I'm officially off duty," Steve said and felt the alcohol take effect. "I wouldn't have drunk…drank that much otherwise." He tugged on a strand of hair that had come loose from her bun. "But, I'm not drunk."

"OK," she said with a smile at his slightly slurred speech. It was a very rare occurrence that her boyfriend drank this much. "I'm glad you have the weekend off. You work too hard," she chided. "You need some down time."

He actually got a good look at her and shrugged. "Look at you," he said. "Dressed all in cammie and we have a perfect night to dig a foxhole." He paused, and then added, "And I'm in no mood or shape… sorry, Cath."

"I have a suggestion," she began.

He tilted back his head and smacked it against the wooden chair. "Ow!" he exclaimed and then chuckled. "I hope your suggestion doesn't require any work on my part because I'm afraid I'm kinda buzzed."

She smiled. "It's no secret that you're buzzed right now," she agreed, leaning down to kiss him. "It's late. How about we go inside and get out of these clothes… because you, my friend, are wet, and once we're dry, you can tell me about your week."

He sighed once again before nodding in agreement. She bent down to gather up the empties for recycling while he reached for the Makers Mark bottle. Steve stood up and had to plant his feet firmly to keep from tilting to the side, a feat that didn't go unnoticed.

"Need any help?" she asked.

Steve grinned sheepishly and threw his arm around her shoulder. "Maybe. Lead on, Designated Driver."

~~~H50~~~

Catherine stopped in the kitchen and put the bottles in the bin while Steve set the Makers on the counter. He waited for her, a vacant stare on his face.

"Hey, are you hungry?" she asked. "Have you eaten anything?"

"Huh?" He came out of his haze. "No, I'm good. But you go ahead and eat."

"I've eaten, too, so why don't we go upstairs? I'm ready to get out of these clothes." They climbed the stairs in silence and she noticed Steve kept a firm grip on the railing to keep his balance. Maybe he was a little more buzzed than he thought.

She got out of her uniform and kept an eye on him, her concern growing with each silent minute. He peeled out of his damp clothing in the bathroom but she noticed him take something from his pocket before doing so. His back was to her, but she could see that he was turning something over and over in his hand before closing it in his fist. He came into the bedroom after being done with his business and grabbed sleep shorts and sat down on the side of the bed. He set the object on the nightstand, but she couldn't see what it was. She decided he would share it with her when he was ready.

Catherine moved to stand in front of him when he didn't make a move to lie down in bed. "Hey," she whispered. "Will you talk to me? What's wrong?" She placed two fingers beneath his chin to tilt up his face, hoping he would look at her. "Whatever it is, you need to tell me about it," she told him. "Please."

Steve stared at her and nodded, reaching both arms around her waist and pulling her closer to him, his head buried in her chest. Catherine's hand moved to the back of his head and she splayed her fingers through his hair, giving him the comfort he was seeking.

After a short while she gently pushed so that they both fell onto the bed. She rolled over Steve to her side of the bed before pulling up the sheet and cuddling next to him.

"I'm sorry," he said again.

Cath turned out the light and maneuvered until they were cheek to cheek. Whatever it was haunting him… and she could read the signs, she hoped the darkness would help him open up.

"I'm not sure what you're sorry for," Cath begun, but was glad Steve was starting to talk.

"We had a cop killer this week," Steve said into the dark.

Catherine rose up and looked at his face in the shadows. "Not one… no one I know, is it?"

"No, we're all good," Steve assured her. "It started on Tuesday. I got to the scene and Danny told me it was a motorcycle cop named Keoki. And I knew it was Ben – he… he lived down the street from us when I was a kid and he and Dad were really close." Steve paused for a moment, clearly remembering his dad's friend. "Ben was shot while escorting a hearse to the cemetery. It was… it was pretty hard having to look into his face. After I got back, I kept meaning to look him up… but I never did." He added in a quieter tone, "Now I have to go to his funeral."

"Was he the target or was it a random shooting?" she asked.

"We didn't know at the time, but Chin soon found evidence on the hill where the killer took the shot. It was a brass casing with "Keoki" stamped on it."

"Wow. That sounds pretty personal," Cath replied.

"Yeah. I talked to one of Ben's friends about old cases and anyone who might have had a grudge against Ben, but Troy couldn't think of anyone. Troy said everyone liked him."

Steve grew silent and Catherine could feel the set of his jaw and the tension in his body. She rubbed her hand up his arm in a gesture she hoped would calm him. Finally he continued, "Troy Ookala was killed the next day. Victim number two."

"Oh, Steve," she whispered. "I'm so sorry."

"It was all a set up. The killer had given a rifle to an unstable druggie and then called in a disturbance call. We shot the guy, but during the fire fight, Troy was shot and killed by the killer" Steve told her about the wild shoot-out with their suspect. "The next morning, Duke Lukela was found in an alley after responding to a call."

"Oh, not Duke," Cath said. "He's been so nice the few times I've met him."

"Yeah… Duke is a great guy. Thankfully he's alive. It was a pretty close call, but they think he'll pull through." Steve sighed and ran a hand through his hair.

"So, did you get the guy?"

"We caught a break and ended up in a car chase. He drove right into the harbor basin. When the car was pulled out, he was gone, but he left behind a prosthetic arm… still attached to the steering wheel."

Catherine raised her head and stared at him. "You have got to be kidding me."

Steve shook his head. "Not kidding. But then I knew who he was. I remembered him from an old case dad had told me about. Dad was one of the arresting officers. A bank heist had gone wrong and there was an explosion. Curt Stoner lost both hands when one of the shots hit a blasting cap that he was holding on to," Steve explained and shook his head at the image his mind made up of that scene. "He did his time, and while there, the State of Hawaii gave him state-of-the-art prosthetic hands. Still don't quite understand why… anyway, they said he was a model prisoner and he was released about three months ago."

"And apparently out for revenge," Cath commented.

"Yeah. There is a photo of Ben, Troy, Duke, my Dad and a couple of other cops receiving an honor for their part in stopping the robbery. We got protection for the other two guys and found out where Stoner lived," Steve told Cath what they had done to protect the lives of the men. "When we moved in for the take down, he wasn't there… but while we were in the apartment, I got a phone call. He was watching. Had me open a drawer… there was a picture of me with the words "You will pay for the sins of the father," written on it."

Catherine sat up in bed and turned to face Steve. "Wait! He came after _**you**_?"

"Tried to," Steve replied. "But don't worry, we got him."

"What did he do?"

"Fired through the window, but we got out of there and down to street level. He was on a roof on the other side of the street and I… diverted him away from everyone else and Kono took a shot."

"Steve?"

"Yeah?"

"Did he make a bullet with your name on it?" she asked.

Steve leaned over and reached for the bullet on the nightstand. He rolled it between his thumb and forefinger before dropping it into her cupped palm.

Catherine stared at it for a few moments, not saying anything before closing her hand around it. "This makes it seem too real," she finally admitted. "Steve, he could have killed you today."

"But he didn't… we took care of him." He held out his hand and she dropped the piece of metal back into it. "It's evidence so I need to turn it in, but I just couldn't let go of it yet. He had a full magazine of them," Steve softly added.

"I can tell this case was way too personal," Cath said as he set the bullet back on the nightstand. She wrapped her arm around Steve's waist and laid her head on his shoulder. "I'm glad the governor gave you some time off."

"Cath?" Steve asked quietly.

She looked up to see his face bathed in moonlight. "Hey, what's wrong? Is there more you're not telling me?"

"I… Cath, I don't know. It's… I can't explain it, but have you ever seen something you know can't be real? I-uh-saw something… well, someone."

Catherine turned on her side and propped her head in her hand, her other hand resting on his stomach. "Steve, please tell me what's going on."

"It wasn't real. Just my mind playing tricks on me," he began.

"Well, tell me anyway. I want to know what's bothering you."

He blew out air, then hesitantly began. "After Stoner was dead, I was standing over his body and I had the bullet in my hand. Danny and the others had already headed back to the cars. I… um, saw a shadow, so I looked up."

Steve stopped talking so she prodded him once again, knowing this was important for him to get out. "Go on…"

"Ben Keoki was standing there, dressed in his uniform and motorcycle helmet. And he thanked me for getting Stoner. And when I looked to his right, Troy was next to him," Steve said in a quiet voice. "After that, I saw my dad. He was… wearing his uniform and he smiled and held out his hand. He said he was proud of me. Cath, I shook his hand. I mean, I could _**feel**_ his grip in mine, I swear it." Steve still felt in awe about the moment. Rationally he knew it wasn't real, but somehow it was.

"I know your dad has to be proud of you," Catherine said.

"Yeah, maybe," Steve replied, "but I… _**saw**_ him. Only I know that didn't happen. Danny called my name and I turned the other direction, and when I turned back around, they were gone. And even though I know they weren't really there, it was all so real. Cath… I'm worried. Do you think I'm losing it?"

"No, of course not," she hastily disagreed. "But what I do think is that this was a rough case and it was very personal to you. One of the victims was a good friend. When did this start? Tuesday, you said? Today is Friday… and knowing you, you haven't slept hardly at all, hell bent on catching this guy."

"I slept…"

"Yeah, I bet. What time did you get up this morning?"

"Uh… around oh-dark-thirty," he said around a yawn.

She grinned at him. "Uh-huh, I was right. How about yesterday?"

Steve thought in silence. "I'm not sure… but I woke up on the couch and it was still dark."

"You know what, after a good night's sleep, I'm sure things will look much better in the morning. Besides," she said with a grin, "we have the whole weekend. Maybe I can help make you feel better."

"You think?" he asked, turning to face her.

"Hey, down, Boy. Not tonight. You need rest. And I've been going for long hours this week, too," she added, leaning over to kissed him. "Steve…"

"Yeah," he sighed, pulling her closer.

Catherine gently placed her hand along the side of his face. "I'm proud of you, too. Don't ever forget that."

"Thanks," he finally answered. "I just wish things could have been different."

"How so?"

"I never realized until today just how much I miss my dad. Still miss him. After… when everything was over today, I came home and he was everywhere I looked in this house. I kept going over everything in my head. That's why I was on the beach with a bottle of Makers."

"To forget?" she asked quietly.

"No… just the opposite. To remember. And to toast Dad and his friends."

"That's very sweet," she said, watching him yawn again. She moved her hand from his face down to his chest and began rubbing circles on his bare skin. She could feel him relaxing into the bed and against her.

He didn't say anything else and she stole a glance, seeing his eyelashes flutter, then lie on his cheeks.

Catherine waited a moment longer, before whispering, "You are a good man, Steve McGarrett. One I am proud to know."


	9. So not Steve's day

**Title:** So not Steve's day

**Rating:** K+

**Disclaimer:** We did check, but it seems that they still don't belong to us. So, we hope CBS and whoever own the rights doesn't mind us borrowing them for a little while.

**Summary: **The day started out really well, but it was all downhill from there.

* * *

><p><strong>PT -So not Steve's day<strong>

_**by Sam**_

Steve didn't bother opening his eyes when he heard Catherine enter the bedroom. "Told ya this mornin' we should have stayed in bed," he mumbled when she sat down on the side of their bed.

"Oh, and how would we have explained that to the team? It was hard enough to tell them why we were late without laughing," Catherine answered.

"You still think this is funny, don't you?" Steve asked accusingly and squinted at her after he opened his eyes.

"No, absolutely not." But she couldn't keep a straight face.

"I saw that," Steve grumbled about her grinning at him.

"I don't think it is funny that you are hurting. I can't find any amusement in that, but, Steve, you have to admit this day was worthy of America's funniest videos," she told him.

"Not from my perspective," Steve said and turned more onto his side, but stopped with a wince when the movement hurt his bruised shoulder.

"Stay still," Catherine stopped him and gently placed the ice pack she brought from the kitchen on his left shoulder. "How is your foot?"

"Still numb. Can't feel a thing. Wonder what he shot me up with," he answered and looked at his elevated left leg with the bandaged foot. Or better his bandaged toes. "It's a wonder they are still attached."

"Oh, yeah, it's a real miracle that you still have your leg. That it wasn't swallowed whole."

"Are you making fun of me again?"

"I wouldn't dare. Do you need another pillow?" Catherine asked sweetly.

"No, I don't need any more pillows. I'm already lying on a freaking mountain of them," Steve again grumbled. He hated this so much. He would take a real injury over this assortment of… there wasn't really a name for these annoyances.

"Yeah, well, the doctor said you shouldn't put pressure on the stitches… so…?"

"So what?"

"Is there any pressure on the stitches?"

"No. Because my ass is not even on the pillow," Steve called out in frustration and shook his head at his girlfriend who again couldn't keep the giggles in. Of course shaking his head was not a good idea. "Ugh," Steve grunted and closed his eyes again.

"Does your head still hurt?" Cath asked, suddenly concerned and looked at the bruise very prominent between Steve's eyes and on the ridge of his nose. The white bandage holding the splint in place covered most of his nose, so there was not that much to see, but Cath knew it was there.

"Only when I move it," Steve answered and had no desire to do so any time soon. He wondered how this day could have ended in such disaster.

It had started out so well when they both had been awake before the sun was up. They had used the time well. Steve had to smile at the thought about their morning.

_**12 hours earlier…**_

„I told you we shouldn't use these stupid soap bars," Steve said in annoyance from the floor of the shower stall. "Liquid soap is a lot safer," he grumbled and rubbed at the hurting spot on his six. He was sure he would get a spectacular bruise.

"You let it drop," Cath defended her favorite lemongrass soap.

"After you grabbed my… never mind," Steve said and got back to his knees, wincing when he straightened his back. He was sure he wasn't hurt, except maybe for his pride, but his lower back was still aching a little.

"I had the impression you liked what I was doing," Cath said grinning, ignoring his mumbling when he fully stood up. "Turn around and let me see."

"No, it's just a bruise," Steve answered and plastered his back against the tiled wall, the coolness actually feeling pretty good.

"I can make it better," Cath suggested.

"You can make it all better, but not back there, I prefer you up front," Steve told her grinning. He bent forward to capture her mouth again; an action his fall had so abruptly interrupted.

"Maybe we should take this to a less slippery surface. Like something soft," Cath said between kisses. "I know a great bed, not even far from here."

"Really? Have we been there before?" Steve asked in interest.

"Oh, yeah, we tested it very thoroughly. Just last night if you remember."

"No, not really, maybe you should refresh my memory," Steve teased her.

And that was what they did. It took a while to reenact all the testing from the night before; which was why they had been a few minutes late to the office. Or maybe it was because they had been stuck in traffic, as they told their colleagues.

**- - - H50 - - -**

"You were stuck in traffic?" Danny looked suspiciously at Cath and Steve who had just come in.

"Yeah," Steve said with a barely kept neutral face. "So, what have we got?" He thought it was best to change the subject. Quickly.

"Duke called about an apparent suicide we might be interested in," Chin explained.

"Why would Five-0 be interested in a suicide?" Catherine asked.

"Because it only appeared to be one; Max had doubts about it and declared it a homicide," Kono further explained.

"OK… and we should get involved because…" Steve let the question hang in the air.

"Because the dead guy had a famous TV show," Chin said.

"He's an actor?" Catherine wanted to know.

"No, not really," Kono let them know. "He was on one of those 'home improvement' channels. A show about how to renovate your home, or something like that."

"Like Tim Taylor?" Danny asked.

"Who's Tim Taylor?" Steve wanted to know.

"Home Improvement?"

"Huh?"

"The TV show from the nineties? Tim Allen? You can catch the re-runs."

"Do I have to?" Steve looked at his partner and wondered not for the first time about Danny's taste in TV shows. Not that he could pitch in on any conversations about TV-shows since he hardly ever watched anything.

"Hey now, no dissing the show, it was a good one."

"I'll take your word for it," Steve assured his friend. "So what do we know about the victim?"

"Not much yet, Duke only called a few minutes ago," Chin said. "His name's Chuck Terry. Sixty five, recently retired to Hawaii."

"OK. Danny and I will go and take a look at the crime scene. Chin, can you check into his background, his financials? Kono, Cath you two please get in contact with his manager, friends, the usual." Steve turned to Danny, "did they make the notification?"

"No. Duke said they haven't reached anyone yet," Danny informed.

"When you contact the manager, see if there is any family to inform," Steve told the two women of the team.

"Will do," Kono answered for both of them.

"Danny, you ready to go?" Steve looked at his partner.

"Whenever you are."

**- - - H50 - - -**

When they reached the crime scene, a house that needed renovations but was in one of the high price places near the coast, they were greeted by Duke.

"Hi, Steve, Danny. Max is still in there with the body, but CSU just packed up."

"Why's the body still there?" Steve wondered.

"Max wanted you to see something. You know how he is," Duke told them with a chuckle.

"OK, thanks, Duke."

Steve and Danny made their way into the house and easily found Max and the dead body. There was not much in the house actually. It was pretty much void of any furniture although the room where they found Max held an antique sideboard and a couple of chairs.

"Hey, Max," Steve called out to their ME.

"Oh, hello. I was waiting for you to get here."

"Duke said you wanted to show us something?" Danny asked as they both stepped closer.

"Yes, indeed. Please take a look at the GSW on the right side of his head."

"Yeah, small entry wound. A twenty two?" Steve asked. "No exit wound?"

"No. But that's not the significant part. Someone wanted everyone to believe Mr. Terry shot himself."

"Why do you believe otherwise, Max?"

"It's not possible for him to have used his right hand to hold a gun."

"And why not?" Steve wanted to know, looking down at the victim's right hand.

"You don't know?" The question almost sounded like an accusation.

"Uhm, no, Max, I don't. Enlighten us?"

"It was all over the news."

"What was?" Now Danny was also curious.

Max knelt by his victim and picked up the corpse's right wrist to show them. "Mr. Terry had an accident a few weeks ago that left him with severe nerve damage to his right hand. He couldn't even hold a pen, let alone a gun," Max explained. "That is why he retired from the show. I wonder why the killer didn't know that," Max added as an afterthought as he stood back up.

"So, let's get this straight. If Mr. Terry would have shot himself he would have done it with his left hand?"

"Yes, Commander. That is why this is not a suicide," Max declared.

"OK, thank you, Max."

"One thing's for sure," Danny said and moved to the sideboard, the only real furniture in the room. "This was not a robbery. Look at all the valuables."

Steve watched Danny pick up one of the trophies, a hammer with a wooden handle and an engraved golden hammer head. Danny swung the trophy and Steve watched as the hammer head flew off the handle.

Everything happened so fast that he didn't even have time to duck. The golden metal hit him right between the eyes on the forehead and the ridge of his nose.

Stunned from the impact Steve felt blood spurting out of his nose. It took a second for the pain to hit, but when it did his eyes watered instantly. His hands flew to his nose, and his knees buckled. Before he could go down though, Danny and Max were at his side.

"Sonofabitch," Steve mumbled through his fingers.

"Steve, I'm sorry, man," Danny said as he led his friend to a chair.

"Ugh… you broke m' nose," Steve answered as he sat down on the chair. His head and nose hurt like a bitch, and he felt slightly dizzy. Blood was still free flowing out of his nose, soaking his shirt and the floor between his feet.

Steve almost jumped out of his chair when he felt something cold slapped on his neck.

"Commander, let me see. Please remove your hands," Max said after he had placed a cold pack on Steve's neck.

Steve looked up at their ME with tear-filled eyes but didn't take his hands off his still heavily bleeding nose.

"Here, hold this to your nose," Max said and held a wad of gauze for Steve to take.

For a moment he wondered where Max got the supplies from so quickly, but then he took the gauze and carefully pressed it under his nose to staunch the bleeding. "Ya broke m' nose," Steve again said.

"Well, let me check that," Max said and without warning pressed on Steve's hurting nose, making him almost pass out from pain.

"Argggh," Steve groaned and almost struck out at Max who stood back surprised by Steve's intense reaction. "Poke your dead guys… ugh." He closed his eyes when a wave of dizziness washed over him.

"Commander, we need to stop the bleeding. That is a lot of blood you're losing," Max said in a concerned voice.

"We need to take you to the hospital," Danny chimed in.

"Not gonna…" Steve started to say, but was interrupted by a sneeze.

**- - - H50 - - -**

_**Queens Medical Center**_

Steve glared at this partner. Then he glared at the doctor who was just in the process of stuffing his nose with more gauze than Steve ever thought possible fitting in there.

"Ugh," he couldn't keep the groan in when the doctor again touched his fractured nose. For what Steve thought was the tenth time since the diagnosis of a broken nose was evident.

Thankfully the nose didn't have to be set, but it just wouldn't stop bleeding. Hence the gauze packing that should stay for at least one or two days. So far he had been lucky and the swelling was kept at a minimum, thanks to Max's quick actions. Of course all the medical attention his abused nose was getting didn't help with the pain.

His head throbbed and his nose send sharp pains into his head every time it was touched.

"I'm sorry, Commander. Almost done," the young ER intern apologized again. "How do you feel? Still dizzy?"

"A little," Steve grumbled. He didn't want to think about the embarrassing moment he had fainted. He was adamant it was due to blood loss from his then heavily bleeding nose, but Max had described to the ER doctor in vivid detail how his eyes had rolled back into his head when he had sneezed.

Steve had to admit pain had exploded not only in his nose and face, but mostly in his head when he had sneezed, accompanied by a huge torrent of blood and other even more disgusting stuff coming out of his nose. When he came to he had been on the floor with his two friends hovering over him. It was the only time Danny's smug grin had been swiped off his face and had been replaced with worry.

But now the stupid grin was back. And it was pissing him off. Because of him he now had a broken nose and had to run around with a stupid splint on said nose. Not even to mention the accompanying pain and humiliation.

"Well, you did lose quite a bit of blood. People often underestimate a nose bleed, but it can easily reach dangerous levels," the doctor explained and looked at the still grinning Danny.

Steve wondered what the heck had gotten into him today. This was not like Danny.

"As I said it can be dangerous," Dr. Walden continued. "I'll give you a prescription for antibiotics, you need to take all of them. Also a prescription for a pain reliever; take those as needed."

" 'K."

"Leave the packing alone; don't take it out."

Steve only looked at his doctor; he had no desire to take that stuff out of his nose. He was sure it would hurt like hell. Even though he now could only breathe through his mouth, which was rather annoying.

"Alright then, I will sign your papers and you're good to go. Come back in two days to remove the packing."

"Does he have a concussion?" Danny spoke up for the first time since they entered the ER.

"No, there is a nice bump to the forehead but no signs of a concussed brain," Dr. Walden answered with a smile.

Steve was not in the mood to smile about his 'luck' _**not**_ to have a concussion, his head hurt like hell. And no matter what his doctor had told him, he didn't feel lucky right now.

"So, I can go now?" Steve asked.

Five minutes later the two friends were on their way back to HQ. One of them driving and the other stubbornly ignoring the tries to start a conversation. Steve looked down at the small bottle of pills they had given him. Before he leaned his aching head back he dry swallowed one of them. Hoping the magic drug would clear his head, make the pain more bearable and… if he was really lucky… drone out Danny.

**- - - H50 - - -**

The last part of his hope didn't work, but the trip to HQ was a short one.

"Steve, wait," Danny called out to him when they both stepped out of the car.

"What?" Steve turned and looked at his friend over the Camaro's roof.

"I am sorry. I'm sorry you got hurt because of me."

Steve looked at his partner and wondered if Danny thought he was blaming him. "I know that, Danny."

"Ever since back at the house you've been glaring at me. Lesser men would be dead by now," Danny said with a tentative smile.

"You were grinning like an idiot the whole time," Steve accused his friend. "You thought this was freaking hilarious…"

"Whoa! What? NO! Steve, that is ridiculous. I would never think…. what?"

Despite his best effort Steve had to smile at his suddenly very animated friend. His arms were flying like windmills and it was a rather comical sight. "Why the hell were you grinning like an idiot? You think this is funny?" Steve almost shouted, and then grabbed his still pounding head.

_Don't yell. Not a good idea._ Steve looked at his partner who looked like a fish gasping for air, but no words came out. He watched him for a moment longer, but then only shook his head and walked over to their headquarters.

"Steve. Listen, I don't know, OK. I don't think this is funny at all, and I am really sorry. I know how much that hurts," Danny said and motioned to the bandaged nose.

"When did you break your nose?" Steve asked, now interested in that story.

"Baseball practice. So not the point right now. I'm sorry if you thought I was not taking this seriously. I do. And I am sorry."

"You said that. Stop apologizing. It was an accident," Steve said and pushed open the door to the main office.

"What happened to you?" Chin called out from the smart table.

"Danny happened to me," was Steve's short answer as he strode into the office. "Cath and Kono back yet?"

"No, they are at the Hilton. Terry's manager was visiting Chuck and stays at the Hilton while in Hawaii. They also called his sister, and she will be on the next flight in from L.A.," Chin informed them of the development in their case while he looked at the two partners. Obviously hoping for a bit more of an explanation. "Did you find out anything at the scene?"

"Only that it was not a suicide. And that Terry liked the minimalistic style," Steve explained.

"Uh huh. Fong called, there were only the victim's prints on the gun."

"So that's a dead end?" Danny wanted to know.

"Maybe not. The gun didn't belong to Terry," Chin informed.

"What?"

"It's registered to Mildred Davies," Chin read from a file displayed on the screen.

"Who is Mildred Davies?" Steve asked. "Any connection to Terry?"

"Not that we know of so far. I have an address for her; do you want to question her?"

"No, you and Danny go. I'll stay here and take a look at your financial findings and wait for Cath and Kono."

"OK. It will take a couple of hours before we'll be back; she lives in Kailua."

**- - - H50 - - -**

Steve sat in his office after he changed into fresh clothes and still waited for his head to stop throbbing. At least his nose didn't hurt as much anymore. But it was a very strange and uncomfortable feeling having all that stuffing up his nose. _Packing. The doctor called it packing._

He shook his head thinking about the young doctor explaining why they didn't cauterize the bleeding artery. And why he would be stuck with this stupid stuff in his nose. Steve snorted at the thought of what all he put up there, but then grimaced when it hurt.

Steve looked back at the files Chin had printed out. He had always preferred the hard copies, but of course knew that was not always possible or even efficient. But Steve could work better with something in his hands. And not just looking at a computer screen.*

Mr. Terry's bank account had some impressive numbers in it. He obviously had been wise in managing his money. Too bad he couldn't enjoy it any longer.

Steve looked through the different papers but nothing really caught his eye, so he put them aside and concentrated on the crime scene photos. Max had just sent them over by email. Steve had surveyed the scene when they had been at the house, but the photos showed every detail and they often found something on them they had missed while walking the scene.

This time though that didn't happen. Steve went through all the pictures and then decided to head over to meet with Max in person again, to learn more about their victim.

Steve stood up from his chair and had to grab the desk when a head rush took him by surprise. But the dizziness only lasted for a few seconds and he was good to go. Missing his returning female team members by mere minutes.

**- - - H50 - - -**

"Where the heck have you been?" Steve was greeted when he entered HQ again an hour later.

"What?"

"We tried to call you three times, but only got your voicemail," Chin calmly explained.

"First of all, I texted you that I went to see Max, and I didn't have any incoming calls." Steve showed his phone to prove his point.

"My calls had been rerouted to voicemail the other day," Chin explained. "I think it's a glitch in the software. I updated mine. If you want I can do yours too."

"Thanks, Chin," Steve answered and pushed his phone over the table to his friend. "Have you found out anything from Mrs. Davies? And where are Cath and Kono now?"

"Kono went to see the lab boys; they called and asked for one of us to head over there. And Cath is picking up lunch," Danny informed his partner. "How's your head?"

Steve only glared at him and ignored the question. "So, what about Mrs. Davies?"

"That was actually interesting," Danny explained. "She reported the gun stolen three days ago."

"Why isn't that in the system?" Steve wanted to know.

"I called Duke and he told me it is in the system, but the database hasn't been updated in the last 72 hours due to newly installed servers which are not all online yet," Chin said.

"What does that exactly mean?" Danny now asked.

"That information entered into the computer at HPD isn't automatically uploaded to the database. Fong used data that was not updated with the latest entries."

"How long will HPD be cut off from the database?" Steve asked.

"They should be back online later today. At least that is what they were told," Chin explained.

"OK, so we still have no idea who used that gun?"

"Not quite, but we do have a lead," Danny answered.

"How so?"

"Mrs. Davies told us that she had a visitor three days ago, the day her gun disappeared. A guy had asked about her old car, and she said she thought he was a strange man. Her words, not mine."

"Strange? What does that mean? Do we know who he was?"

"Yeah, we were just on our way out to pay him a visit. His name is Keaki Koo. He has a salvage yard and body shop on Pahouni Drive. We wanted to go check him out," Danny explained.

"OK, then let's go, I'll tell you what Max had to say on the way," Steve told them and turned to leave. "Danny, can you text Cath and Kono and tell them to meet us there?"

"Sure."

A couple of minutes later they were on their way to question Keaki Koo.

**- - - H50 - - -**

"Oh my God, Steve, what happened to you?" Was the first question out of Catherine's mouth when they met up at the junkyard.

"He forgot to duck," Danny provided an answer.

Steve whipped his head around and ignored the stabbing pain and the dizziness the movement brought, instead he glared at his friend. "Seriously? You're going with that?"

"What?"

"I guess I should have known you would throw a hammer at my face?" Not expecting an answer Steve continued, "Sure. Guess this was all my fault."

"You threw a hammer at him?" Chin and Catherine asked at the same time.

"I didn't _**throw**_ a hammer, OK? It was an accident," Danny cried out.

"Right," Steve grumbled under his breath. "Let's go see Mr. Koo."

Steve took position in front of the huge metal gate that was at least 10 feet high and span across the width of the driveway. A heavy chain kept the two wings of the gate closed. The obligatory guard dog sign was prominent on it, but so far they hadn't seen or heard any dogs.

"Mr. Koo! Hello! Anyone home?" Chin yelled over to the garage-like building about 20 yards from the gate.

The sound of his voice hadn't even reached the building when a tall man in his twenties came out of the garage, took one look at them, dropped his toolbox and… ran.

Steve groaned out load, "Why do they always run?" He jumped up the chain-link fence and shinnied up the rest of the way. He swung over the edge and dropped down on the other side immediately feeling the thud of his feet hitting concrete travel right up to explode in his head. Steve ignored the sudden pain and grinned at his partner who threw up his hands in the air before he too jumped up the fence. But Steve didn't wait for Danny to make his way over, he gave chase after their fleeing suspect.

Steve was sure his doctor would have a fit if he could see him now. This was probably not what he had in mind when he told Steve to take it easy for a couple of days, at least until after the packing was removed. He could already feel his nose starting to bleed again. Or maybe that was just his imagination.

What was not his imagination was the headache he got from running after Koo. Every step he took went straight into his brain, resulting in mini explosions. Steve was sure that if he would close his eyes he would even see fireworks accompanying the explosions.

He was almost in tackling distance when he was just about to round another corner on the cluttered yard. But Steve didn't get the chance to tackle their suspect; instead something massive and furry rammed into him as soon as he rounded the corner behind the garage.

Steve was thrown off balance and crashed to the ground hard, landing on his shoulder, skidding a few feet unable to break his fall in any way. Pain shot into his arm and chest, but the worst pain started a moment later when the monster of a guard dog bit him.

Before he could even shake the dog off his six the second dog sank his teeth into Steve's foot. Biting right through the leather. In typical dog fashion he shook his prey and Steve cried out in pain when his foot was wildly shaken while the dog had it in a death grip.

Steve lay mostly on his belly, trying to protect his front when the dog again sank his teeth into the meaty part of Steve's lower back. Eliciting another cry of pain. For a fleeting second Steve thought where the heck his gun had landed after he had lost it in the attack.

The second dog was still trying to chew off Steve's toes when there was a gunshot and suddenly the dogs were gone. Leaving Steve in a cloud of dust and blood.

Steve tried to breathe, but the dust and sand made him cough, and that made his head and nose hurt in an incredible way. He felt lightheaded, probably from blood loss. He could feel that blood was again free flowing. He thought he should get up, to check his team and see what the heck had happened. But it was hard thinking straight. He felt kind of oddly detached from it all, and that should worry him. But he just didn't have the energy to care.

His body hadn't replenished the first blood loss yet, so he was fast going into shock. Steve was not able to prevent that, didn't even realize it.

Next thing he clearly knew he was lying on his back with his feet held up by Kono while Catherine knelt next to him.

"Steve?"

"Huh?"

**- - - H50 - - -**

_**Back in the bedroom**_

"What the heck are you snickering about now?" Steve asked in annoyance coming back to the present.

"You. It was just too funny when you came to, not even really awake how you checked if your equipment was still attached," Cath told him still grinning, obviously remembering the scene.

Steve blushed slightly thinking about _**that**_. "Oh, you thought that was funny? I remember you looked pretty scared," he softly said.

"Yeah, well, when we got to you… there was so much blood and you were out cold. So, excuse me if I was slightly worried."

"You're forgiven," Steve told her with a smile. But then grimaced again when the shot he had received to numb his foot started to wear off.

"Do you want another pain pill?"

"No, they make me fuzzy."

"Well, looking at you, I think fuzzy would be kind of a good thing," Cath said smiling down at him.

"Ha, ha, you're hilarious. Ouch," Steve grumbled when he wiggled his bandaged toes.

"Stop that. You will only pull the stitches," Cath told him and gently lay her hand on his leg to stop his movements.

Steve had gotten restless in the last few minutes. First, he needed to use the bathroom, and second because his foot had started to hurt. _No wonder with over 30 stitches in there_, he thought to himself.

"Do we have a plastic bag?"

"What do you want with a bag?" Cath asked him.

"I want to take a shower, and I can't get my foot wet."

"What about the other stitches?"

"We can put a waterproof bandaid on it," Steve said while he scooted over to the edge of the bed.

His shoulder hurt only a little, it was just slightly bruised, but no real damage done. His head still hurt a bit, and he tried to ignore the pain in his butt. Not easy while sitting on it. At least the mattress was soft and not pressing too much on the twenty seven neat stitches the doctor had put in there. And while they had numbed his foot to clean and stitch it up, they didn't do so for his six. It had hurt. A lot.

And what had really hurt was the huge needle they had stuck in his belly. To prevent rabies, in case the dogs had it. Those shots were no fun, and he would have to get even more of them. He had told them his inoculations were all up to date, rabies included, but they did it anyway. So not cool.

"How about I'll give you a sponge bath instead?"

"Cath… no, I really need a shower," Steve whined, but had to admit being upright made him dizzy again.

"Come on, lie back down," Cath said and gently pushed him back down. "Remember, the doctor said to be careful, you might still get severe dizzy spells from low blood pressure. And I can see that happened right now."

"But I need to pee," Steve grumbled. "And I'm not doing that lying down."

"OK, we will take it slow to the bathroom, but no shower," Cath offered.

"Fine," Steve conceded and made his way back up and off the bed, ignoring the pain in his butt.

They made it to the bathroom and back without mishap, but Steve was glad to lie back down. He was kind of enjoying the attention he was getting from his girlfriend while she rearranged the pillows so he could lie as comfortable as possible.

"Thank you. I know I'm not the best patient," Steve softly said.

"I know you hate this, but Steve, we all need a little TLC at one point or the other. And I will always be happy to provide it."

"I could think of something else you could provide, that would distract me from my various injuries," Steve told her with a smirk.

"Oh, you think we should test if that still attached equipment is fully functioning?" Cath asked with a grin.

"Uh huh."

"Correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't that how your bad day started?" she asked with a smile.

"Maybe we need to start all over?" he hopefully suggested.

And so they did, both thankful that all said equipment was in perfect working order.

**- - - H50 - - -**

* * *

><p>*Referring to 1.09, the Nick Taylor episode when Steve did research on the killed Agent. He had files all over his desk.<p> 


	10. Mai'a

_**Title: Mai'a**_

_**Rating: K**_

_**Disclaimer: I checked the Whump-2-Go mailbox this morning and apparently we STILL don't own this franchise. But I just know that our letter will arrive any day now!**_

_**Summary: It's another boat trip. Need I say more? :) **_

_**Mai'a**_

_**By Cokie**_

"Steve, calm down, he didn't know," Catherine said in an attempt to calm down her boyfriend.

She looked once again at Steve and tried… unsuccessfully… to hide her smile. He was caked in sweat and covered from head to toe in grease and grime and Cath was thankful the windows on the truck had been rolled down on their trip home.

Steve slammed the door of the truck. "Gracie knew. Did you think about that? If she knew, why the heck didn't Danny know? You just don't do that here. I swear, I thought the captain was going to throw all of us overboard."

"Steve, come on, it's over and everyone made it back to land safely."

"Not for lack of Danny trying to kill us all." He whipped around to face her, his hand slashing the air in a semblance of Danny's hand-waving. "And another thing… if he ever mentions that this is possibly, even minutely *my* fault I'm gonna hurt him."

"Oh, Steve-"

"Just wait, Cath. Mark my words… somehow, he'll turn this around so that it was my fault. Hell, he's the one who rented the boat in the first place."

"I thought it was nice to have Grace's birthday party on the boat. It was really thoughtful of Danny to do something she loves. And she did love the dolphin watching."

Steve held the door open for Catherine and then slammed it behind them. "Really? I wouldn't know, would I?! Because I was up to my armpits in grease and motor oil trying to help the captain fix the damn boat!"

"Why don't you go get a hot shower? You'll feel better once you get all that gunk off you. I know you're tired."

"Gee, ya think?" Steve snarked while resetting the door alarm for the night. "I'm gonna have to take a shower with Go-Jo in order to get clean," he said while staring at his hands.

Catherine reached over and wiped the smudge of grease off the key pad before it was stained beyond repair. "Go," she pointed upward. "I'll bring you a beer when you're out. We can sit outside upstairs and wind down before we go to bed."

"Thanks," Steve grumbled as he trudged up the steps. He yawned loudly before continuing, "But I may be ready for bed. It's been a long day."

"We can do that!" she told him. "Hey, on second thought, I'm coming with you. I'll take those clothes to the garage so grease doesn't get in the house."

"Thanks. I'm glad I had a tarp to sit on in the truck. Or else the seat would have been black." He kicked off his deck shoes in the bathroom and peeled out of the sticky, Navy-issue tee shirt with the arms cut out.

"I think this can safely go in the trash," Cath said, holding it carefully between her thumb and forefinger.

"No way!" Steve said, shocked at the thought. "That's my favorite shirt."

"Oooo…Kay. I'll throw it in the washing machine." She held out her hand and took his shorts from him, making sure to hold them away from her body. "These too, I presume."

"Yeah, they're still good," he assured her.

"Of course they are," she whispered while heading out of the room. She heard the water turn on behind her and just shook her head at her friend's idea of "good clothes".

"Hey!"

Cath turned around. "What'cha need?"

"Don't forget the beer."

"Got it. Don't use my good white towels to dry with."

"Can't hear you."

"I'm going to Google the toughest laundry detergent around," she muttered to herself while going down the stairs holding the stinky clothes.

~~~H50~~~

"Ow, ow, that hurts."

"Be still, it can't hurt that much," Cath said while slathering aloe gel on Steve's shoulders.

"It does," Steve whined. "I can't believe I got sunburned. That's Danny's fault, too."

"Oh, now hold on," Catherine said. "I handed you the sunscreen first thing this morning and you said you didn't need it because 'you were already tanned'."

"That was before my neck and shoulders were bent over a motor all day long. _**That**_ wasn't my fault."

"No, but not wearing sunscreen was," she argued. "What? Do you think sunscreen is for wusses? Danny used it."

"I rest my case. And don't get me started on Danny again," Steve grumbled while carefully arranging the pillows and leaning back against the headboard. He finished his beer and watched while Catherine unwrapped her wet hair from the towel and combed through the tangles.

"Are you ready to turn out the light?" she asked him while pulling back the cover on the bed.

Steve set the bottle on the floor and held the cover for her to get in, scooting down at the same time. "Yeah, but I probably can't sleep. My back is still on fire. It really hurts."

"Steve McGarrett, you have been shot, stabbed, beaten and Lord knows what else that even *I* don't know about and you're complaining about a sunburn?"

"But it hurts," he whined, grinning at her. "I probably need a kiss to make it all better."

"Will that shut you up?" she asked, a matching smile on her face.

"For as long as the kiss lasts," he admitted, zoning in on her mouth.

When they came back up for air, her mouth wandered over to his ear and she nipped it. "Your ears are sunburned, too. But that kiss should get you through the night."

"I might need a booster soon," he warned her.

"I'll keep that in mind," she replied, snuggling close to him. "I have a question."

"Sure, what?"

"You've told me before that your grandparents, while not native here, were very conscious of the Hawaiian belief system and observed the rituals and superstitions."

"Yeah, my grandmother was a great believer in it. Why?"

"I get the feeling that you believe the superstitions a lot more than you let on."

"I was raised here and I've seen a lot of stuff that I can't explain. My take on it is 'why take the chance'."

"I agree," she nodded. "But how can you get mad at Danny for not believing?"

Steve turned to face her. "Why? Just because he doesn't believe in any rituals or warnings doesn't mean they don't exist. And what gives him the right to discount anything here? These people strongly believe and they have a very rich and long-standing culture. It isn't up to anyone to make light of those beliefs. I mean, come on, Cath, after you came to Hawaii how long did it take for you to learn about bananas? You don't take bananas on a boat. Ever. Period. End of story."

"I know, I know, but Danny just wanted a snack."

"A SNACK? Are you kidding me? We had sandwiches, chips, two coolers full of food… not to mention birthday cupcakes… and Danny stored two bananas in his backpack? What? He's three and needs an afternoon snack?"

"Well, we did finally discover them after they started smelling. I mean, leave a backpack with bananas out in the hot sun and they're going to get pretty ripe," Cath said with a grin. "And boy was he mad that the captain threw them out to sea."

"Yeah… and then what happened? Huh? Tell me the next thing that happened."

"Ok, now that was a coincidence," Catherine said.

"Really? Tell me what happened."

"You started the boat."

"Exactly!" Steve cried out in triumph. "Bananas went in the ocean and the boat was happy again. Not to mention the fact that I was ecstatic. Do you know how long it would have taken to get towed back to shore? We'd still be out there bobbing around."

"Have you always exaggerated like this?" she asked, smiling at him.

"It's a fact. I don't know how and I don't know why, but sometimes you just have to accept things as they are. And you don't mess with nature!"

"All right. I swear I won't ever take a banana on a boat," Cath promised. "Any other ritual I should know about?"

"You already know about pork on the Pali. If you see a woman in white on the Pali, pick her up and you'll be blessed by Pele."

"I don't think that's very safe," Cath said.

"She won't hurt you."

"Yeah, but a psycho who knows the superstition might dress as a woman in white and hurt someone."

"Good point. Only pick up strangers if you're with me."

"Roger that."

"Anything else?"

"Yeah, just one more," he whispered.

"And what's that?"

"Shut up and kiss me again. I feel the first one wearing off."

So she did.


	11. Jerry

_**A couple weeks ago, Sam said "we need another Pillow Talk". I agreed, but said it needed to be something funny. I tried for "funny" but am not sure I succeeded. I do know that Sam came through and made this a much better story from what I originally had. I have to admit that never in a million years would I ever have thought I would include Jerry in a fanfic... but I guess the saying "never say never" is true!**_

_**I hope this gives you at least a smile or two. Mahalo!**_

_**Pillow Talk: Jerry or "Do as I Say, Not as I Do!"**_

_**By Cokie**_

_**Friday, 1900 Hours**_

Steve pulled into the driveway thankful to see that Cath had already made it home from work. He had tried to call to say he was heading home but the call had gone straight to her voice mail. He and Danny had spent the afternoon out of the office checking out known acquaintances of their latest "person of interest" in a string of high-end burglaries. So high end that the governor was involved in the case… and those were the cases that Steve _really_ wanted to clear up as quickly as possible.

He heard Catherine's voice when he entered the house and followed the sound to the kitchen, where he stopped in the doorway and watched her. The phone was wedged between her shoulder and her ear while she cut up grapes before tossing them into a large bowl. Steve always loved watching her when she didn't realize he was there. She was engrossed in the conversation and while not cutting a grape, the hand holding the knife was waving around in the air.

Slowly Steve started listening to her side of the conversation… strange as it was.

"Well, yeah, I get it that the Area 51 shirt might be a conversation starter," she said. "But what if she isn't into science fiction?" She listened a moment and then added, "Well, it is possible she knows nothing about sci-fi and will think your shirt proclaiming that you are the "Property of Area 51" would be odd. I still think the solid tee shirt would look best under the jacket, but it's your call." After listening a few more moments, she ended the call with "You're gonna knock her dead, Jerry. Have fun."

Cath sat her phone on the counter and said, "Commander if you're trying for covert, you failed. I heard you come in the front door."

"Wasn't trying to sneak in," Steve told her, moving to stand behind her and kissing her neck. "What'cha doing?"

"Making dinner. Chicken salad OK for you? I wasn't in the mood for take out tonight."

He reached into the bowl and snared a grape, popping it into his mouth. "That looks good. Can I help?"

She reached for the cut-up chicken and added it to the bowl. "There's fruit in the fridge if you want to cut up some of it to eat with the salad."

Steve opened the refrigerator and began to rummage. "So, what's up with Jerry? Why the phone call?" he asked with his head practically in the fridge.

"I'm surprised he didn't tell you. He has a date tonight," Cath announced. "And he called me to see what he should wear. He wanted jeans, an old tee shirt that said "Property of Area 51" and a sport jacket. I tried to tell him the shirt might be a bit much, but I'm not sure he agrees with me." She glanced up to see Steve staring at her, a cantaloupe in one hand and a honeydew in the other. "Hey? You OK?" she asked and put down the knife, stepping closer to her seemingly dazed boyfriend.

"Huh? Yeah. You kind of lost me at 'Jerry has a date'. Where'd he meet this girl?" Steve asked bewildered.

"Believe it or not, Max fixed them up on a blind date. Her name is Prudence and she works on the night shift in the morgue. I've met her the other day; she seems friendly, although kind of nerdish in a way.

"That fits."

"Steve, don't be mean."

"I'm not," he assured her while putting the fruit on the table. "I'm just a bit surprised. Good for Jerry. But... Prudence?..."

_**Friday Dinner, 1945 Hours**_

"So, you're saying that you have nothing to show for an entire afternoon full of interviews? That sucks." Cath remarked.

"Tell me about it," Steve grumbled. "And in between interviews, I had to listen to Danny complain about how quickly Grace is growing up. I'm telling ya, he's gonna have to let go a little. Not only does _he _have an ulcer… he's giving me one!"

"And the ulcer is all Danny's fault," Cath stated. "Grace is normal… doing things every other girl her age does. Danny needs to accept that."

"You tell him that," Steve said, fishing his phone out of his pocket. He glanced at the screen and rolled his eyes. "Jerry," he whispered, then answered. "McGarrett."

"_Steve, it's Jerry. Got a question for you, Buddy."_

"Hey, Jerry. What's up?"

"_Well, I've got this date tonight and I want to make a good impression. How do you feel about flowers?"_

"Me, personally? They're nice, I guess." Steve looked at Cath and again rolled his eyes.

She came around the table and made herself at home in Steve's lap so that she could listen in on the conversation.

"Do you have time to find some nice ones before you pick her up?" Steve glanced at his watch. "It's going on 8… what time is your date?"

"_We're meeting at the restaurant. Seeing as how I don't have a car, I chose something nearby. I'm taking the bus."_

"The bus," Steve stated, wide eyed.

Catherine cupped her hand over her mouth to stifle her laughter. "Be nice," she whispered.

"Where are you meeting her?" Steve asked. "I mean, if you bring flowers, where is she going to put them while she's at the restaurant?"

"_Darn… never thought about that," Jerry admitted. "Hey, how about a corsage. That would be nice, wouldn't it?"_

"Well, what restaurant is this?" Steve asked again.

"_At the Denny's on Kapolei. They just remodeled. And they have good food."_

"Ah. Um… don't you think a corsage might be a bit of overkill for Denny's? I mean she would probably be the only one there with flowers."

"_You know, Man, you make a good point. I shouldn't make her feel like she's outclassing the other people. Thanks, Steve. Flowers are a no-go. See you la-tah."_

Steve set the phone on the table and wrapped both arms around his girlfriend. " 'La-tah',"… what the hell is that?"

Cath grinned at him. "He's excited. I just hope he doesn't freeze when he meets her."

"You know, maybe they should have met _**before**_ going out just to break some of the ice."

"Yeah, well, too late for that," she replied. "Hey, wanna go for a swim?"

Steve pushed her off his lap. "Thought you'd never ask. Let's go."

_**Friday, 2100 Hours**_

An hour later, the couple ran out of the water, racing each other to the chairs which held their towels. Steve reached for his phone while scrubbing the towel through his wet hair and sighed. "Got two more calls from Jerry," he told Cath.

She reached for her phone. "Ah, he must love me more… I have three calls. Wonder what's wrong?"

"Won't have long to find out," Steve replied when his phone buzzed again. He threw his towel around his neck and sat down. "McGarrett."

"_Steve, my man, where have you been? I've been calling for almost an hour."_

"What's going on, Jerry?" Steve calmly asked, ignoring Jerry's almost hysteric tone.

"_Is Catherine with you? Put me on speaker, I need to talk to both of you."_

Steve shook his head and hit the speaker button on his phone. The first sound they heard was a distinct flush. Steve made a face. "Jerry… are you in the bathroom?"

"_Well, yeah, killing two birds with one stone, so to speak. And I *had* to give Prudence a reason I needed to leave the table so I could call you."_

"What's up, Jerry?" Cath asked, seated in the chair next to Steve while squeezing the water from her hair.

"_I don't know. I'm kinda worried that I offended Prudence. As any gentleman would, I allowed her to order first and she asked for a salad. I ordered the double Bacon-Slamburger, which is heaven on a bun, but Prudence made a disgusted looking face at my choice. When our food came, she admitted that she's vegan. Do you think I offended her with my order? I mean, I don't want to scare her off or anything, but who'd a thought she wouldn't like a hamburger with bacon and eggs on it? I mean, that's all-American food, right?"_

Cath was trying not to laugh at the look on Steve's face as he pictured a double burger topped with bacon and eggs. "Jerry, just because it isn't something she would eat, I wouldn't think she would condemn you for eating it."

"But why would you?" Steve muttered under his breath.

"_What'd you say there, Big Guy?"_

"Uh, nothin' Jerry. How many times have you left the table to make phone calls?"

"_Only three," Jerry told them. "I said I had a weak bladder."_

"Well, that's good dinner conversation," Steve shot back.

"_Oh… should I not have… gee, I don't want to offend her—"_

"Ignore him, Jerry," Cath said, making a face at Steve. "Just have fun. You'll do fine."

"_I hope so," he replied. "Cause, she's really nice."_

"Then get back out there, Jerry," Steve ordered.

"_Aye, aye, my Cap-i-tan."_

Steve pressed the call release button and again reached for his towel. "Man, I don't remember dating being such a chore," he commented.

Cath chuckled. "Not for you, I bet. All you had to do was bat those eyelashes and girls would be puddles at your feet."

Steve stared at her. "I never have batted my eyelashes for anything," he retorted.

"If you say so."

"What? I haven't. Seriously."

"Uh huh, keep telling yourself that," she teased.

"OK, when?" he asked. "Tell me when I ever batted my eyes at you."

Catherine looked at him and smiled, then moved from her chair to his lap. "You didn't have to," she whispered while wrapping her arms around his neck. "The first time I looked in your eyes, I melted," she admitted.

Steve kissed her lips, murmuring "nice save, Rollins," in the midst of nipping kisses.

"I thought so," she whispered back. She pulled away for a second and stared into his face. "So, after our first date, was there a reason you wanted to see me again?" she asked.

Steve grinned. "That would be classified, Ma'am." He batted his eyelashes for effect.

"Jerk." She swatted his arm.

Steve pulled her closer to him. "Does it count that I told Freddie I wanted to date you the first time I heard your voice over the radio?"

"Now I'm sure that's not true," Cath retorted.

"I swear it's true."

"You never told me that."

"I'm telling you now. I had called in for coordinates and the ensign said, 'Let me get Rollins to run that information for you'," Steve explained. "I had no idea that Rollins was going to have the sexiest voice I have ever heard over a walkie talkie. I turned to Freddie and told him my plan to date you. He laughed."

"Aww, that's sweet," Cath told him laughing. "You must have been out of reach of women for way too long to find my voice over the airwaves sexy," she said while twining her fingers with his. "Want to know a secret?"

"Is this the night for true confessions?" he asked, stealing another kiss.

"I asked who you were, too," she admitted. "But only for military purposes. I needed to know who I was dealing with." Cath remembered hearing that voice and instantly having the desire to meet the man.

"Uh huh."

"It's true," she repeated. "I was the newbie and needed to know who I was interacting with. But I will say that when you made it back to the ship, I was most delighted to put a face with your name."

"I seem to recall you turned me down when I asked for a date," Steve pouted.

"You will never let me forget that," she said. "I had already made plans and I couldn't break them."

"Yeah, plans with Sweaty Ralphie," Steve said with a chuckle.

"Ralph was… nice," Catherine told him. "But yeah… he was pretty sweaty. You should try being on a shift with him in a confined space."

"Thanks, but no," Steve replied.

Cath laughed. "You want to fight over the shower or would you like to join me?"

"I could be persuaded to join you."

"Think one of us should wait by the phone for Jerry's next crisis?" she asked only half joking.

"Jerry is on his own. Surely there can be no more questions to ask."

_**Friday, 2230 Hours**_

Both towels landed on the floor when Steve pushed Cath down on the bed and slid beside her. "Dare you to finish what you started in the shower," he whispered.

"You dare me?"

"Double-dog-dare," he breathed against her lips, pressing his eager body against her, so that she could feel what he was talking about.

"I can never pass up a dare," she said, circling his neck with both arms, flipping their bodies so that she was lying on top of him.

He grinned up at her. "So, that's the way you want to play it?"

"Shh," she warned him, moving downward for a kiss. "You talk too much," she said between kisses.

A couple minutes of play time was all Steve had patience for and he rolled them both so that he was on top, his elbows propped on the bed, his hands beneath her shoulders. His exploration of her neck was halted when her phone rang.

"Do. Not. Answer." he warned her while his tongue explored the lobe of her right ear.

"Ah… don't… worry," she assured him, unsure she could even hold the phone if she had picked it up. Her limbs felt like warm jelly. Quite a pleasant feeling, she thought.

Miraculously the phone stopped ringing and Steve continued the onslaught of her neck, his lips trailing around her throat to the opposite ear.

And his phone began buzzing.

Steve sighed, dropping his head to Catherine's chest. "So help me, if that's Jerry…"

"He won't give up if it is," Cath warned.

Steve reached for his phone and groaned. "Dammit, Jerry." He kissed Cath's lips and agreed, "No, he won't." With a frustrated sigh, he rolled onto his side and answered.

"Jerry?" His voice was not happy. Nothing about him was happy at that moment.

"_Jeez, what took you so long?" Jerry asked. "I tried Catherine and she didn't answer. Maybe you guys need to turn up the ringers on your phones. I am in need of your expertise."_

"What. Do. You. Want?" Steve growled into the phone.

"Be nice, Steve," Cath whispered but held up her hands in surrender at his glare. She moved closer so she could hear what was being said.

"_Steve, I need your help, man. After dinner, which was lovely by the way, we went for a walk and Prudence asked me if I wanted to go to her apartment for coffee."_

"OK… So?" Steve asked a bit distracted. His breath sped up while Cath kept her hands occupied.

"_So? Man, I need help. Do I assume she has protection, or do I make a pit stop and buy something? Or, do I ask her? Help me out, I'm new at this dating thing."_

"Protec—Jerry, maybe she is just inviting you in for coffee. Just because she invited you to her apartment, it doesn't mean she wants to do anything… else…," Steve said and rolled onto his back, gently slapping at Catherine's hand to stop her ministrations. He couldn't focus on Jerry and on what Cath was currently doing to him at the same time. Although he would have much rather been giving Cath his full attention.

"_You mean coffee isn't a euphemism for sex?" _Jerry's voice sounded heartbroken.

"Uh, no, not really," Steve said, looking pleadingly at Cath who only smiled at him.

"_But I thought.."_

"Listen Jerry, you just met this girl. Don't you think you should wait to get to know her before you decide to go to bed with her?"

"_Yeah, maybe, I guess. But I thought- Hey, let me talk to Catherine. She might have a better idea than you."_

Steve was shocked into silence and watched as Cath started waving her arms in a "no way" movement. "OK, you want Cath? Here you go." He forced the phone into her waving hand, grinning at her discomfort. Knowing that later, he would probably pay for that action.

"Hey, Jerry."

"_Yeah, Steve thinks I shouldn't stop off for some condoms on the way to Prudence's house. What do you think? Should I just assume she has some?"_

"Jerry, maybe Steve is right. You should play this a bit cooler." Her breath hitched when Steve's fingers began roving up her thigh. "She might…" she stopped speaking and moved her leg when her voice came out in a high pitched squeak. "She might just want to get to know you better over a cup of coffee. Don't assume anything else and you'll do fine."

"_You think?" _he asked, his voice sad.

"Yeah, I think. Just enjoy yourself and get to know her."

"Well, I guess that's good advice. Let me talk to the SteveMeister again."

Cath smiled and forced the phone back into Steve's hand. "It's for you," she whispered.

He rolled his eyes. "Yeah, Jerry?"

"_I gotta say, Steve, you're one lucky guy. Catherine made me realize that classy girls like her wouldn't have sex on the first date. You guys probably went out for a fancy dinner, didn't you?"_

Steve looked at her, his eyes full of mischief. "Yeah, Jerry, she's all class. And you're right... we had dinner."

"_I can only hope that Prudence is as nice. OK, gotta go. She might get worried that I'm in the bathroom at the 7-11."_

Steve set the phone back on the nightstand and turned to look at Cath, his eyes full of mischief.

"Don't you dare say it," she warned.

"What?" he asked with a grin. "Jerry just said you were too classy to have sex on a first date. I just agreed with him."

"And you told him we had dinner," she retorted. "Funny, I don't consider peanut butter on cheese crackers taken from the room's mini-bar a suitable dinner!"

"Hey, I let you have all six of them," Steve replied. "I ate the Fritos."

Cath laughed. "Yeah, we're full of class, aren't we? If people only knew."

Steve propped himself on his elbow and looked at her. "If they knew what, Lieutenant?" he whispered. "That I was so enamored by you I couldn't be bothered with buying dinner?"

"We had _**plans**_ for dinner," Cath said, moving closer to him, her head propped in her hand. "Until you were called back to the ship. We only had two hours, so we needed to use the time wisely."

Steve smiled slowly. "And did we?"

"Did we what?" she asked coyly.

"Use the time wisely?"

She grinned and pushed him onto his back. "That we did, Commander. Let me show you just how wisely."

_**Saturday morning, 0315 Hours**_

Steve heard ringing in the background and he groped for the nightstand, still half asleep.

The sound woke Catherine and she raised her head from the vicinity of Steve's chest. "It's after three," she mumbled.

Steve finally found the phone and dragged it to his ear. " 'M gonna kill Jerry," he mumbled. "McGarrett."

"_He shoots, he scores!" _Jerry's excited voice shouted.

"Huh? What?" Comprehension kicked in and Steve realized what had been said. "Eww, TMI Jerry. I didn't need to hear that."

"_Just wanted my two besties to know that that the Jer-Man is going home a happy camper tonight. __**IF**__ you know what I mean."_

"Uh, yeah. I get it. G'night."

"_Want me to come over in the morning and give you the play by play?"_

"NO! Absolutely not! We're busy tomorrow. Goodnight!"

"Someone's excited," Cath murmured, her head once more on Steve's chest.

"He's frickin' nuts," Steve said. "After hearing that I think I need another shower. And the thought of a play-by-play is…" he shuddered. "Is… just revolting."

"Shh. Go back to sleep," she mumbled. "You'll need your strength in the morning." She poked him in the side and added, "You're still gonna get what's coming to you. I owe you for making me lie to him!"

"Is that a promise?" Steve asked and grinned, snuggling her warmth against his chest. He closed his eyes as sleep reclaimed him, his final thought before drifting off … 'Yeah, she is all class'.


	12. Morning Hours

_**Pillow Talk: Chapter 12 - The Morning Hours**_

_**By Cokie**_

_**A/N: At the end of Season 4, our dreams of Pillow Talk drove off into the Afghan sunset. I have a weird gene or something where I have to write in the context of the show. And with Cath not being there, I just couldn't write anything dealing with Steve and Cath.**_

_**But, thanks to the powers-that-be in Hawaii, she showed up a year later for Kono's wedding. Now you can't tell me that she didn't miss that man that rose up out of the sea in front of her. Or that same man a day later who looked so dazzling in his tux walking away from a chopper after he had "saved the world". Kono's wedding wasn't the ONLY reason she returned!**_

_**So here is my take on Steve and Cath's "Pillow Talk". Cokie**_

_**H50**_

The sun's first rays had not made their presence known when Steve was pulled from sleep. He wasn't sure what had woken him, but he lay there, not moving, enjoying the quiet of early morning. The window was open and nature was just beginning to awaken as well, giving him a feeling of contentment.

He smiled and opened his eyes. And he knew it was going to be a good day.

He didn't want to move; didn't want to even change his breathing pattern for fear of waking her. Cath had been back almost a week and while it felt _**right**_ to have her back in his bed, it still felt new, and also oddly strange… but most of all, he had to admit, it felt exciting. He loved watching her and listening to her breathe. Sometimes she made soft noises in her sleep and even they excited him.

Her touch could send him into overdrive. Not that he would ever admit that to another living soul. Right now, he wanted to wrap her in his arms and hold so tight that she couldn't ever leave again.

Instead, he watched her sleep. Well, all he could see was the top of her head and an ear. Her head was tucked into the side of his shoulder where she had curled up last night… _make that earlier this morning…_ when they finally decided they needed some sleep. _After all, they had to make up for lost time. And make up they did._ That thought brought another smile to his face.

Her fingers were resting lightly on his wrist and as much as he wanted to snare her fingers in his, he remained relaxed, cherishing these rare moments when he could watch her just a few minutes longer.

Steve had to admit, he was a lost cause. He didn't want her to be gone again. Ever. They were treading lightly around each other; wanting so badly to feel "normal". But a year had gone by and during that time normal had become something new; something uncomfortable. Something he didn't want at all.

Waking up next to Catherine had to be the best feeling in the world.

_**H50**_

Catherine's internal clock let her know that the sun was just coming up. Her instincts and clock had had to do some readjusting when she returned from the Middle East, but finally she felt like her body was back in sync with the time zone. She had always loved early mornings, and mornings in Hawaii were special. Most every day brought a glorious sunrise and she felt that today would be the same.

She lay there, not moving, enjoying the sound of Steve's breathing. A slight smile came to her lips as she listened to him breathe. The man should be exhausted after they had finally decided to call it a night… in the early morning hours.

But she could tell without a single doubt that he was awake and probably watching her. She could always tell when he was awake although he did his best at pretending to be asleep. His breathing pattern might fool others, but she had woken up next to him enough times to know when he was awake and when he was asleep.

Catherine opened her eyes to mere slits and saw her fingers resting on Steve's wrist. She was comfortable and really didn't want to move from her warm spot curled next to his arm. But on the other hand, she really wanted to feel _**more**_ of him than just his shoulder and arm.

She ran her fingers from his wrist to his hand and slid her fingers between his. "It's not nice to watch people while they sleep," she whispered.

"Who said I was watching?" he asked in an equally low voice.

Cath raised her head and laid it on his shoulder. "I can feel you looking at me," she admitted. "And you know what? … I kind of like it."

"You do?" he asked, placing a kiss on the top of her head. "Know what I like?"

"What would that be?" she asked, looking at him.

He angled his head to reach her lips and gave her a soft, lazy kiss. "That. First thing in the morning."

"Mmm, yeah, it is nice," she agreed, turning onto her side to face him.

Steve rolled toward her, noses touching, each of them smiling at their new-found happiness.

And Catherine knew that waking up next to Steve was the absolute best feeling in the world.


End file.
